Von der Leyen and Trump agree to meet on a date to be determined

Rome – The President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, and the U.S. President, Donald Trump, agreed to meet after exchanging greetings and a few words this Saturday in Rome, where both attended the funeral of Pope Francis.

“In their brief exchange, President Von der Leyen and President Trump agreed to meet,” the spokesperson for the European Commission, Paula Pihno, informed the press, without specifying when or where the meeting would take place.

Both leaders shook hands and exchanged a few words during the funeral of Pope Francis held in St. Peter’s Square, in their first meeting since the Republican’s arrival at the White House for his second term, against the backdrop of the trade war initiated by Trump.

“Today, leaders from around the world gathered to pay their final tribute to His Holiness Pope Francis. I had good exchanges with several of them,” Von der Leyen limited herself to saying on her social media, without specifically mentioning Trump, although she did post a photo with him, among others.

The European Union (EU) and the United States are in full negotiations over tariffs, after the European partner activated a global tax of 25% on steel and aluminum, as well as on automobiles, and a 20% tariff they call “reciprocal” on other products, although it was reduced by half for 90 days.

With the intention of negotiating a de-escalation of the trade war, Brussels suspended for the same time its decision to apply a 25% tariff on a wide list of U.S. products in response to those applied by the United States on steel and aluminum.

Technical-level negotiations continue to reach an agreement with Washington, the spokesperson for the Commission on trade, Olof Gill, reported last Friday, adding that “political contact will resume when it is necessary, advantageous, and appropriate to do so.”

The U.S. President also held a private meeting this Saturday in Rome with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, and later joined by the French head of state, Emmanuel Macron, and the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. (April 26)