Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is travelling to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday, aiming to reduce tensions over US tariffs on European goods and establish herself as a mediator between Washington and Brussels.

Meloni faces a delicate balancing act, navigating her ideological alignment with Trump while maintaining relationships with European allies, who have criticised his tariff increases and his choice to exclude the EU from discussions with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine.

While Meloni faces pressure domestically to protect Italy's export-driven economy, which posted a €40 billion trade surplus with the US last year, she also needs to be seen defending the interests of the entire 27-nation EU bloc, Reuters reports.

French government ministers have cautioned that the nationalist Italian leader might weaken EU unity by engaging with Washington independently, but the European Commission, responsible for trade negotiations, has supported Meloni's visit.

Trump's sudden decision last week to suspend most global tariffs for 90 days has eased some of the pressure on Meloni. As a result, she no longer feels the need to secure an immediate deal, but instead aims to foster the right conditions for a future agreement.

“She is no longer travelling amid an open clash involving the EU. She is going as a de facto mediator,” according to Lorenzo Castellani, a political analyst at Luiss University in Rome.

Furthermore, Meloni was the only EU leader invited to Trump's inauguration in January, and this week's meeting will occur just a day before she hosts Vice President JD Vance in Rome. These back-to-back discussions could be key to advancing Italy's goal of playing a central role in transatlantic relations.

“If she facilitates negotiations with Trump without penalising Europe, she will emerge much stronger,” Castellani said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has yet to be granted a meeting with Trump, leaving her to depend on others to advocate for EU interests.

A commission spokesperson noted that Meloni and von der Leyen had been in frequent communication before the White House meeting.

Both leaders have advocated for the removal of all of Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs on the EU, and Meloni is expected to push for a “zero-for-zero” agreement on industrial tariffs between the two parties.

Yet French officials are concerned that Trump may be trying to divide Europe, fearing that Meloni could inadvertently play into his strategy.

“We need to be united because Europe is strong if it's united. If we start having bilateral talks, of course it'll break this momentum,” stated Marc Ferracci, the French minister for industry and energy to FranceInfo radio.