Italy’s Meloni hosts Vance, EU chief for trade talks, hails ‘new’ era

ROME -  Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hailed a “new beginning” in transatlantic relations as she hosted US Vice-President J.D. Vance and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to talk about trade, tariffs and security.

The tripartite meeting in Rome came as world leaders gathered on May 18 for the

enthronement of Pope Leo XIV

at the Vatican. Mr Vance and Dr von der Leyen had last met in February in Paris.

“I am very proud to be able to host these two leaders today to begin a dialogue. There’s lots to discuss, there are problems we need to overcome,” Ms Meloni said. 

“Relations between the EU and the US are fundamental for the West to maintain its unity, its strength,” she added. “We know how important our trade relations are.”

Speaking at Palazzo Chigi, the seat of executive power in Rome, Ms Meloni said she hoped May 18’s talks could mark a new start, noting that the EU was in charge of trade negotiations between the bloc’s members and the US. 

Mr Vance expressed hope that the talks – the first at such a high level since US President Donald Trump introduced his sweeping tariffs earlier this year – “will be the beginning of some long-term trade negotiations”.

In televised comments at the start of the meeting, Mr Vance said: “I’ve said repeatedly that I think Europe is an important ally of the United States, the individual countries within Europe are important allies of the United States.

“But of course we have some disagreements, as friends sometimes do, on issues like trade, and we also have many agreements and many things that we can work on together, and I’m looking forward to this conversation.”

He added: “I think we’ll have a great conversation and hopefully (it) will be the beginning of some long-term trade negotiations and some long-term trade advantages between both Europe and the United States.”

For her part, Dr von der Leyen – who sat on one side of Ms Meloni, with Mr Vance on the other – hailed the “very special and close relationship” between the US and the European Union.

“Everybody knows that the devil is in the detail, but what unites us is that at the end we want, together, to have a good deal for both sides,” the EU chief said.

Mr Trump announced a 20 per cent tariff on most EU goods in April, along with higher duties on dozens of other nations, but has since frozen the measure until July.

The US president said on May 9 that he hoped to meet the “fantastic” von der Leyen, saying that the bloc wanted to “make a deal very badly” with the US.

Ms Meloni travelled to Washington last month, receiving effusive praise from Mr Trump and getting him to agree to meet with “Europe” in the near future. That was one of the deliverables that Bloomberg reported her team had identified as attainable during her visit to the White House.

Since Mr Trump came to power in January, the Italian premier has avoided criticism of the US in a balancing act that’s sometimes seen her take different public stances from those of her European peers, as well as come under pressure from government allies and the opposition alike at home. BLOOMBERG, AFP