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After the enthronement of Pope Leo XIV, Rome is once again the crossroads of diplomacy. The Italian prime minister brings together US vice-president and EU Commission president for a summit on trade, defence and Ukraine

Rome confirms itself as the epicentre of international diplomacy, this time under the direction of Giorgia Meloni. The day after the enthronement of Pope Leo XIV, the Italian Prime Minister managed to get US Vice-President J.D. Vance and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen around the same table. A three-way summit, hosted at Palazzo Chigi, which represents a concrete step towards strengthening the transatlantic dialogue, on which Meloni has been working for months.

The discussion was held in the yellow living room of the Italian government headquarters, with the flags of Italy, the United States and the European Union behind it, symbolising the bridging role that Rome aspires to play. ‘I am proud to host two of the leaders of the US and the EU to initiate a dialogue that I had proposed to President Trump during my visit to Washington,’ said the Prime Minister opening the proceedings.

At the centre of the meeting were the hottest dossiers: tariffs and trade policies, security, the Ukrainian crisis. ‘Relations between Europe and the United States are fundamental for a united and strong West,’ insisted Meloni, reiterating Italy’s role as facilitator between Brussels and Washington.

J.D. Vance, accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, praised the initiative: ‘Meloni has offered to build bridges between the US and the EU. President Trump and I are happy to accept’. While admitting differences, especially on the trade front, Vance said he was optimistic about the start of ‘long-term negotiations’.

Von der Leyen, on the other hand, emphasised the technical efforts of the two sides of the Atlantic to find an understanding on tariffs. ‘The devil is in the details,’ he reminded, citing the importance of a ‘just and lasting peace’ in Ukraine. Words also addressed to Vance, fresh from a face-to-face with Volodymyr Zelensky at Villa Taverna after the papal ceremony.

The defence also returned to the centre of the confrontation. Von der Leyen pointed out that European states must increase investment in the sector, recalling the EUR 800 billion mobilised by the EU over the next four years. A topic that will be discussed in depth at the NATO summit in The Hague in June.

The talks at Palazzo Chigi, which lasted about an hour, closed with a note of satisfaction from Meloni: ‘A constructive discussion. Proud of this step forward for the unity of the West’.

The premier’s initiative also has an internal political reflection. After the controversy that followed her absence at the Tirana summit – where Trump (in connection) and Zelensky were also present – Meloni cashes in on a diplomatic success that her people describe as ‘extraordinary’, with comparisons that evoke Pratica di Mare.

The White House, in a statement, confirms that the focus of the meeting was the rebalancing of trade, the security of supply chains, defence cooperation, immigration and the end of the war in Ukraine. Rome, once again, stands as a crucial junction in the global game.

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(Source and photo: © AndKronos)

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