20 EU Conservative Lawmakers Visit Washington to Repair Trump Ties as Iran War Deepens Rift
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jul 3
20 EU Conservative Lawmakers Visit Washington to Repair Trump Ties as Iran War Deepens Rift
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Jul 3
Summary
About 20 lawmakers from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group used a long-planned Washington trip to try to repair relations with the Trump administration after months of friction.
The strain has widened over Trump's Greenland threats, tariff pressure and demands that Europe back the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, with energy costs also rising after the Strait of Hormuz closure.
Recent flashpoints included Trump's June mockery of Italy's Giorgia Meloni, France's Jordan Bardella rejecting any Trump endorsement and Germany's AfD pulling back from Trump-linked events in March.
U.S. officials including Sarah Rogers, Elbridge Colby and Andy Baker met the delegation, which said it found common ground on Ukraine, migration, regulation and higher European defense spending.
The visit covered only part of Europe's right, not France's National Rally or Germany's AfD, underscoring that any transatlantic conservative reset remains limited and incomplete.