US Vice President JD Vance said in Rome today that Europe is an "important ally" but acknowledged there are disagreements over trade, during a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The conversation, the first at such a high level since Donald Trump's tariff hikes, "will be the start of long-term trade negotiations and long-term trade benefits between Europe and the US," Vance said at the start of the meeting, which comes amid a tariff war between the European Union (EU) and the US.
"Europe is an important ally of the United States, individual European countries are important allies of the United States, but of course we have some disagreements, as friends sometimes do, on issues like trade," Vance said at the headquarters of the Italian government in the presence of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The President of the European Commission said she values the relationship with the US.
"Everyone knows that the devil is in the details, but what unites us is that in the end we want to reach a good deal for both sides," said Ursula von der Leyen.
Vance and Ursula von der Leyen attended the first mass of the new head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, in Rome today.
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