US Vice President JD Vance met with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Friday for a second day of talks on tariffs, and the White House suggested a broader US-Europe summit was under consideration when US President Donald Trump visits.
“I've been missing you,” Meloni jokingly told Vance as he entered the courtyard of Chigi Palace, the premier's office.
They had seen each other just the previous day in the Oval Office, where Trump lavished praise on the Italian leader for her crackdown on migration but didn't yield on tariff plans that have increased tensions with the European Union and stoked fears of recession.
The White House and Meloni's office on Friday issued a joint statement that said Trump would visit Italy “in the very near future.”
“There is also consideration to hold, on such occasion, a meeting between US and Europe,” the statement said.
Meloni as bridge between US-EU
Meloni has positioned herself as a bridge between the Trump administration and Europe and was the lone EU leader to attend his inauguration. As the head of a far-right party, she is ideologically aligned with Trump on issues including curbing migration and promoting traditional values.
But Italy and the US have diverged over Meloni's strong support for Ukraine, while Trump's tariff threat has put pressure on Meloni to defend the EU's trade interests on behalf of the bloc.
Meloni said she hoped the second day of talks would serve to strengthen a longstanding friendship.
“We believe that Italy can be an extremely important partner in Europe and the Mediterranean for the United States of America,” she said. “There is a privileged relationship between us of which I am very proud.”
A bond market panic led Trump to partially pull back on his tariffs by pausing his 20 per cent import taxes on the EU for 90 days and charge a baseline 10 per cent instead.
But with Meloni sitting by his side, Trump said Thursday he was in no rush to reach any trade deals.
Vance, for his part, reaffirmed the US-Italy friendship and told Meloni that he would brief her on some “interesting” developments in Russia-Ukraine negotiations. “Big trade negotiations” would continue, he said.
Like Trump, Vance seemed dazzled by Meloni's Italian language even though he didn't understand what she was saying.
“Of course, she could have called me a jerk and I wouldn't know, but it would be in the most beautiful language imaginable, so I wouldn't even get offended,” he said.
Vance having Vatican meetings after tangle with pope
Vance, a Catholic convert, attended Good Friday services with his wife and three children in St Peter's Basilica on Friday afternoon and was scheduled to meet over the weekend with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
No meeting with Pope Francis was announced and the pontiff wasn't on hand at the start of the solemn Good Friday service, which was presided over by a Vatican cardinal.
The 88-year-old pope has sharply cut back his work schedule as he recovers from a near-fatal case of double pneumonia, and his participation in the weekend's Easter services is uncertain.
“I'm grateful every day for this job, but particularly today where my official duties have brought me to Rome on Good Friday,” Vance posted on X. “I wish all Christians all over the world, but particularly those back home in the US, a blessed Good Friday.”
Good Friday commemorates Christ's crucifixion and is marked by the Vatican with a Latin-filled service in St Peter's and a nighttime, torchlit procession at the Colosseum.
Francis and Vance have tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration's plans to deport migrants en masse.
Just days before he was hospitalised in February, Francis blasted the administration's deportation plans, warning that they would deprive migrants of their inherent dignity.
In a letter to US bishops, Francis also apparently responded to Vance directly for having claimed that Catholic doctrine justified such policies.
Vance has acknowledged Francis' criticism but has said he would continue to defend his views
