Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni will test her mettle as a bridge between the EU and the United States when she meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday, the first European leader to have a face-to-face with Trump since he announced, and then suspended, 20% tariffs on European exports.
Meloni secured the meeting at a critical juncture in the trade war as Italy’s leader, but she also has, in a sense, been “knighted” to represent the European Union. She has been in close contact with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of the trip, and "the outreach is … closely coordinated," a commission spokeswoman said this week.
