Vance arrives for talks in Italy, Easter at the Vatican

Rome: US Vice President JD Vance was in Rome Friday for talks with far right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, before celebrating Easter at the Vatican a...

Rome: US Vice President JD Vance was in Rome Friday for talks with far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, before celebrating Easter at the Vatican and a meeting with the pope's right-hand man.

Meloni shares conservative views with Vance and President Donald Trump, whom she met in Washington just a day before on a charm offensive aiming for a US-EU tariffs deal.

Trump's threatened tariffs could have a major impact on Italy, the world's fourth-largest exporter, which sends around 10 percent of its exports to the United States.

The trip is also Vance's first back to Europe since delivering a combative speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, in which he lambasted the EU's members on culture war issues while calling for the bloc to "step up" in managing its own security.

Vance is to meet Meloni at 11:00 am (0900 GMT), and is also due to talk with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, the second-highest official at the Holy See after Pope Francis.