European leaders hope that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni can persuade U.S. President Donald Trump not to impose tariffs on the EU and to continue supporting Ukraine, according to the Financial Times on Thursday.

Giorgia Meloni’s presence at Donald Trump’s inauguration aimed to reinforce her status as a privileged interlocutor with the new US administration. But this position carries risks for Italy and the EU.

WASHINGTON DC, JAN 24 - United States President Donald Trump said "I like (Italian Premier Giorgia) Meloni a lot" on Friday when asked by a Mediaset reporter about whether his administration might go easy on Italy when it comes to imposing tariffs on EU goods.

The Meloni government relies on the cooperation of the Libyan government to block the departure of migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

Critics noted the meeting's absence, but ECR Secretary-General Antonio Giordano, who was in Washington with Meloni, played down its significance to Euractiv, stating Meloni spent four hours with Trump, a meeting that had a positive outcome.

He hails a fantastic woman sweeping all before her in Europe. She praises a strong and shrewd defender of the West. Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni are fast forging a new transatlantic "special relationship".

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni has emerged as the US president’s favourite EU interlocutor, with hopes growing she could talk him out of a trade war.

"Giorgia Meloni has better relations with Trump than any other (major ... or to do with Elon Musk", she told AFP. In terms of other EU interlocutors, the bloc's institutional leaders have struggled to get facetime with Trump and his incoming team.

Italy will work to strengthen dialogue between the European Union and the United States, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on congratulating President Donald Trump on his return to the White House. "Italy will always work to strengthen the dialogue between the US and Europe,

President Donald Trump has given everyone at Davos something to talk about with his actions on the first day of his second term.

The U.S. president-elect lays down a clear ideological marker with his unusual invitees from across the globe.

(MENAFN- The Conversation) Giorgia Meloni was the only leader of a European ... as a LINK between Brussels and Washington within the EU framework. This rapprochement seems to obey different ...