NEWS ANALYSIS – Facing transatlantic headwinds, Meloni holds her course

ROME – Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has declined to join U.S. President Trump’s Gaza peace initiative, citing incompatibility with Article 11 of the Italian Constitution and aligning Italy with a broader European refusal to participate.

According to Palazzo Chigi, Italy can take part only in international peace initiatives based on equality among states, a condition officials say the U.S.-led “Board of Peace” does not meet. The proposed structure has been described in Rome as a privately run alternative to the United Nations, with governance concentrated in Washington and participation reportedly tied to financial contributions that could reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Meloni’s decision reflects a careful balancing act. While she has cultivated a direct channel with the U.S. president, her government has opted to anchor its position in constitutional constraints and a cautious European consensus. Germany and the United Kingdom have also stayed out of the initiative, leaving only a handful of governments open to joining.

Domestic legal constraints

Beyond diplomacy, domestic law proved decisive. Any formal Italian participation would require parliamentary ratification, a process officials say could not be completed within the proposed timetable. 

Senior figures in Rome also indicated that the presidency, based at the Quirinale, would be unlikely to clear the initiative on constitutional grounds. The position is shared across the governing coalition. Deputy prime ministers Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani, as well as Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, have all endorsed the decision, with Forza Italia among the most outspoken in declaring the project legally unworkable.

Europe closes ranks

Despite her personal rapport with Trump, Meloni places Italy firmly within a broader European pattern of caution. Germany and the United Kingdom have also declined to join, leaving only a small group of governments, including Hungary and Albania, open to participation. 

Trump is scheduled to host a signing ceremony for the Board of Peace on Thursday, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he will formally unveil the initiative and its charter. Italian sources say Meloni is unlikely to attend that event.

The Board of Peace is being promoted as a streamlined alternative to existing multilateral mechanisms, with decision-making authority concentrated in the U.S. presidency. The design has raised concerns across Europe. 

France has rejected the initiative outright, while other capitals are seeking clarity on governance, accountability and financing, wary of setting precedents that could sideline established international institutions.

Managing a privileged channel

Meloni’s position is delicate. Over the past year, she has emerged as one of the European leaders with the most direct access to U.S. President Trump, reflecting ideological proximity and a pragmatic working relationship. 

She attended his inauguration, travelled to Mar-a-Lago for talks on tariffs and has been treated by the White House as a key interlocutor between Washington and Brussels.

That access, however, does not translate into unilateral authority. Trade policy remains an EU competence, with negotiations led by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, not Italy. On tariffs, Italy has explored energy and industrial cooperation as a way to ease tensions, but any agreement must ultimately be concluded at the EU level.

The same logic applies to security. Prime Minister Meloni has voiced reservations about U.S. pressure on Greenland, while insisting that any response must be collective. On Venezuela, she welcomed the departure of Nicolás Maduro but stressed that Italy’s position would remain firmly anchored in NATO and the European framework.

Where Rome has exerted more influence is in trade negotiations with Mercosur. The agreement – a quarter of a century in the making – has cleared a key hurdle but remains politically sensitive. 

With negotiations now moving from signature to ratification, Italian officials have focused on securing robust safeguard clauses for domestic industries, a priority that is likely to prove decisive in shaping Rome’s final position.

A politics of presence 

Meloni’s posture is clear. She sits at the table – elbows firmly on it – even when the final word isn’t hers. 

Her strategy is to preserve access to Washington without breaking ranks in Europe or stretching Italy’s constitutional boundaries. It is a politics of presence rather than control, mediation without submission. At home, that stance carries weight. Consistency and resolve count as much as results, a calculation likely to shape her posture as Italy moves toward its next elections.

Image Credit: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire. Italiens Premierministerin Giorgia Meloni greift durch https://www.heute.at/i/italienischer-abgeordneter-nach-schuss-suspendiert-120013355/doc-1hjnl37dm0