US Vice President JD Vance and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized their shared desire to improve relations just before meeting in Rome on Sunday.
“Hopefully, we’ll be the beginning of some long-term trade negotiations and some long-term trade advantages between both Europe and the United States,” Vance said at the start of the meeting, which was organized by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as leaders gathered in Rome for the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.
In recent weeks, tensions between the US and Europe have flared, primarily due to US President Donald Trump’s announcement of plans to impose tariffs on the European Union.
After strong protests and turbulence in stock and financial markets, Trump suspended the tariffs in April for 90 days. The EU has expressed its readiness to take decisive measures, including counter-tariffs, should negotiations fail.
Vance anticipates ‘great discussions’
Von der Leyen said “it is important now we have exchanged papers that our experts are deep diving discussing the details. 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 European Commission president highlighted that the EU and the US share the world’s largest trade partnership, with an annual volume of around $1.5 trillion.
Europe and its individual countries are important allies of the United States, Vance said.
“Of course, we have some disagreements, as friends sometimes do, on issues like trade,” he said, adding “we also have many agreements and many things that we can work on together.”
Vance said he is “looking forward to this conversation,” adding: “I think we’ll have a great conversation.”
Von der Leyen on Ukraine: Next week ‘decisive’
Von der Leyen added that, in addition to trade and tariff issues, other topics such as Ukraine would also be discussed. She praised US efforts, saying “I think the next week will be crucial on that.”
On Monday, US President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been waging an all-out war against Ukraine for more than three years.
Meloni expressed hope that the dialogue in Rome could mark a diplomatic “restart” between Washington and the EU.
Vance praises Meloni as a ‘bridge-builder’
Vance explicitly praised Meloni, stating that Meloni had offered to be a “bridge builder” between the US and the EU, adding that he and Trump “are excited to accept” the Italian leader’s offer.
The Italian prime minister had recently been somewhat sidelined diplomatically, including in discussions about a potential ceasefire in Ukraine.
