With Europe under pressure on tariffs, Ukraine and defence, the European Commission relies on direct talks and active diplomacy to avoid new rifts with Washington.

A few jokes, a fleeting handshake on the parvis of St Peter’s, and a door that seemed definitively closed suddenly ajar. Theinformal meeting between Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen has put the diplomatic channels between the European Union and the United States back in motion, just when trade and geopolitical tensions require lucidity and initiative.

With the meeting in Rome, on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral, von der Leyen demonstrated a pragmatic and conscious intelligence. He chose to indulge Italy’s ambition for a role in transatlantic diplomacy, but without conceding leadership of the process to Giorgia Meloni. She met Trump in Rome, but not in the palaces of the Republic: on the ‘sacred’ bank of the Tiber, not on the profane side of secular institutions. It was a gesture that respected local political sensitivities, but without renouncing the autonomous management of the initiative. Above all, it seized the opportunity to establish contact with Trump in a context in which the US president would hardly have accepted a more formal confrontation. A move that confirms how, in an increasingly fragmented world, the ability to act flexibly without losing one’s centre of gravity is the possible figure of a new European protagonism.

In Brussels, work will now be done under the carpet to transform the brief exchange into a real institutional meeting, in the knowledge that time is running out. The double date of the G7 meeting in Calgary and the NATO summit in The Hague, both in June, offer firm dates. But the idea is not to wait too long: a window could open as early as 16 May, with the end of Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia and possible talks with Vladimir Putin, perhaps in Istanbul.

The urgency of confrontation

The initiative of the Commission President, who immediately confronted Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on her return from Rome, shows how high the stakes are. The subject of duties looms large: without agreements, new punitive tariffs will be triggered in July that risk jeopardising European exports. Not only that. On the table are strategic issues such as supporting Ukraine, regulating Big Tech, and strengthening energy cooperation with US LNG.

The game, however, will not be easy. As already demonstrated during his first presidency, Trump will follow his own logic, often marked by a brutal pragmatism, accompanied by an exasperating situationism, which is ill-suited to the times and methods of multilateral diplomacy.

The strength of European unity

In this scenario, Europe cannot afford divisions. The preparatory meetings, the bilateral missions and even the hypothesis of a direct trip by von der Leyen to Washington should be read as signals of a Europe aware of the need to act itself. After all, even in 2018 it was a direct intervention by Jean-Claude Juncker that prevented a trade escalation, proving that when united and resolute, the Union can still dictate terms.

The back-up plan, with counter-demands already in place as of 14 July, confirms a new political maturity in Brussels: the willingness to negotiate does not imply subalternity, and the risk of a tough confrontation is realistically taken into account.

A decisive challenge

The possible Trump-von der Leyen meeting will not only be a test of diplomatic skill, but a test of European geopolitical credibility. The balance is delicate: defending trade interests without giving in to isolationism, reviving transatlantic cooperation without giving up strategic autonomy.

The road is narrow, but the alternative – a Europe relegated to the role of spectator in the new global dynamics – would be far worse. Therefore, more than ever, the Union will have to show cohesion, firmness and the capacity for initiative. In a world where power relations are rapidly redefining themselves, standing still is no longer an option.