Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and France’s Emmanuel Macron met Tuesday in Rome to try to work out their differences. They face shared issues, including the war in Ukraine and US tariffs.
The far-right prime minister greeted the moderate French president at her office in Palazzo Chigi, grinning and giving each other a quick peck on the cheek. With no intention of speaking to the media, the two European opponents went inside for discussions and a supper after a guard of honour performed their respective national anthems.
As the heads of the EU’s second and third largest economies, they are not necessarily political friends, but they are both dealing with the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s broad tariffs against the bloc.
Meloni said she was “very happy” with the visit and recognised “divergences” with Macron, but she denied having any “personal problems” with him. Rome and Paris sought to “lay the foundations for a further strengthening of relations” between two countries “on the front line of the various fronts of international politics,” according to a source in the Italian administration.
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