Italy’s Meloni heads to Washington, carrying EU hopes

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni heads to Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, carrying with her European hopes of defusing transatlantic tensions.

The continent has made little headway on lowering US tariffs in particular; a recent visit by the EU trade commissioner to Washington was widely viewed as a flop.

Meloni — the only EU leader to attend Trump’s inauguration — has positioned herself as a bridge between the ostensible allies, and her anti-immigration, nationalist views are largely in line with the American leader’s.

But her nation is a laggard on the key issues Trump values: Italy spends far below the European average on defense, and has a hefty trade surplus with the US.