Rubio arrives for two-day visit to see Pope Leo, Italy’s Meloni
Lorenzo Tondo
in Palermo
Meanwhile, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, is to meet Pope Leo at the Vatican on Thursday in an effort to ease tensions after Donald Trump’s repeated criticisms of the first North American pontiff.
Amid unprecedented strain on relations between the Holy See and Washington, Rubio is expected to meet Leo at the Apostolic Palace in the morning, before holding a series of meetings with the Italian government.
Trump on Tuesday accused the pope of supporting nuclear weapons and “endangering a lot of Catholics’’ with his stance against the Iran war, in the latest attack by the US president on the pontiff.
On Wednesday, Leo responded:
“If anyone wants to criticise me for proclaiming the gospel, let them do so with the truth: the church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, there is no doubt about that. I simply hope to be listened to because of the value of God’s word.”
Rubio downplayed the rift between Trump and Leo and told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that the president’s recent criticism of the pontiff was rooted in his opposition to Iran potentially obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could be used against millions of Catholics around the world.
Trump “doesn’t understand why anyone – leave aside the pope – would think that it’s a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said.
Relations between the Vatican and Washington have never been so fraught. In April, the US president lashed out at Leo over the pope’s criticism of the war in Iran, branding him “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy”, and claiming he had only been elected pontiff because Trump himself occupied the White House. Trump later shared – before deleting – an AI-generated image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure.
Rubio’s likely goal is to try to smooth over Trump’s insults and repair increasingly damaged ties between the US and the Vatican. According to several analysts, the secretary of state is expected to defend Washington’s rationale for launching the war in Iran, while carefully avoiding a direct clash with the church’s position.
Rubio will also meet the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, on Friday as relations between Rome and Washington have also deteriorated.
Key events
Current evidence shows hantavirus continues to pose ‘low’ risk to Europeans, UN insists
Speaking at the European Commission’s midday briefing, the executive’s health spokesperson Eva Hrncirova insisted that the risk to Europeans posed by the new hantarivus remained “low.”
“According to the evidence that we have at the moment, the risk for the public in Europe, the risk for the Europeans is low. Health of the citizens in Europe is our absolute priority,” she said.
She stressed there was “no cause for concern,” and the EU was working closely with the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control to monitor the situation.
EU will not leave Kyiv despite warnings of possible Russian strikes
Meanwhile in Brussels, the EU said it would not leave Kyiv after Russia warned of a possible retaliatory strike on the Ukrainian capital and urged foreign organisations to evacuate.
“As to us, the EU, we will not change our posture or presence in Kyiv. Russian attacks are… unfortunately, a daily reality in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine,” EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said in comments reported by AFP.
Russia’s public threats to attack Kyiv are part of its reckless escalatory tactics.
The European Union’s diplomatic mission in Kyiv was damaged in August last year after Russian missiles struck close to the building.
Hungary’s Magyar meets with Italy’s Meloni ahead of inauguration weekend
Meanwhile, Hungary’s incoming prime minister Péter Magyar has arrived for talks at Palazzo Chigi in Rome, where he is due to meet with Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni.
Since he is not the Hungarian PM yet – he will take his role this weekend – he was officially welcomed outside the Palazzo by a senior adviser to the Italian PM instead.
Ukraine, international order, Europe’s push to arm part of discussions with Pope Leo, Poland’s Tusk says
Earlier today, Pope Leo welcomed Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk in the Vatican, and going by Tusk’s press conference afterwards, it was a good geopolitical warm up act for the big transatlantic meet with Marco Rubio.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Tusk said the pair discussed a potential papal visit to Poland signalling 2028 as an option under consideration, but that a big chunk of their conversation focused on international affairs.
“Of course, the conversation was about Ukraine, … about the international order, the armament of Poland and Europe, and the armament of Germany. Well, you know how many hot topics there are.
As you know, I will also have a meeting with prime minister Meloni today and secretary of state Rubio is here too; he will have a meeting with the Holy Father right after me. So this also shows how much is happening and how difficult the issues are to discuss and solve.”
Later today, Tusk will also meet Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, who is also expected to welcome Hungary’s incoming prime minister Péter Magyar at some point today – and will see Rubio tomorrow.
Rubio arrives in Vatican for talks with Pope Leo – in pictures
Rubio arrives for two-day visit to see Pope Leo, Italy’s Meloni
Lorenzo Tondo
in Palermo
Meanwhile, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, is to meet Pope Leo at the Vatican on Thursday in an effort to ease tensions after Donald Trump’s repeated criticisms of the first North American pontiff.
Amid unprecedented strain on relations between the Holy See and Washington, Rubio is expected to meet Leo at the Apostolic Palace in the morning, before holding a series of meetings with the Italian government.
Trump on Tuesday accused the pope of supporting nuclear weapons and “endangering a lot of Catholics’’ with his stance against the Iran war, in the latest attack by the US president on the pontiff.
On Wednesday, Leo responded:
“If anyone wants to criticise me for proclaiming the gospel, let them do so with the truth: the church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, there is no doubt about that. I simply hope to be listened to because of the value of God’s word.”
Rubio downplayed the rift between Trump and Leo and told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that the president’s recent criticism of the pontiff was rooted in his opposition to Iran potentially obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could be used against millions of Catholics around the world.
Trump “doesn’t understand why anyone – leave aside the pope – would think that it’s a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said.
Relations between the Vatican and Washington have never been so fraught. In April, the US president lashed out at Leo over the pope’s criticism of the war in Iran, branding him “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy”, and claiming he had only been elected pontiff because Trump himself occupied the White House. Trump later shared – before deleting – an AI-generated image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure.
Rubio’s likely goal is to try to smooth over Trump’s insults and repair increasingly damaged ties between the US and the Vatican. According to several analysts, the secretary of state is expected to defend Washington’s rationale for launching the war in Iran, while carefully avoiding a direct clash with the church’s position.
Rubio will also meet the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, on Friday as relations between Rome and Washington have also deteriorated.
At a separate press conference with Latvia’s defence and interior ministers, we are told broadly similar things that the incident is still being investigated.
I will return to this topic if we get something substantially new.
Romania reports brief breach of its airspace by Russian drone attacking Ukraine last night
Meanwhile, Romania has just reported a brief violation of its airspace by drones taking part in a Russian attack on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine last night.
The drone was monitored by two F-16 patrolling aircraft and tracked as it crossed into Romania’s airspace in the Chilia area, the country’s defence ministry said in a statement.
The ministry “firmly condemned the irresponsible actions of the Russian Federation, which contravene the norms of international law and pose risks to regional security and stability in the Black Sea.”
Flanked by senior police and army officials, the Latvian prime minister Evika Siliņa is just giving a brief update after this morning’s crisis cabinet meeting in Riga.
She says there is still no clarity on who directed the drones reported in the Latvian airspace, and this continues to be investigated.
She sticks to key lines that as she stresses that the incident is a consequence of Russia’s continuing war on Ukraine, and Latvia needs to be prepared for similar situations as it continues to support Ukraine.
She also warns about any disinformation attempts coming from Russia in response to the incident.
Siliņa also talks about some practical concerns about the way Latvia’s emergency alert system worked last night.
Lisa O’Carroll
Meanwhile, the European Parliament has said it will work “expeditiously” to ensure the “spirit and the letter” of the EU’s trade deal with Donald Trump is sealed, after representatives failed to reach a deal in ratification talks with member states last night.
No deal is expected now until 19 May when talks with MEPs resume.
A timetable in Europe’s democratic process risks invoking the ire of Trump who on Friday said he would increase car tariffs from 15% to 25% because the EU were taking to long to implement its side of the Turnberry deal.
The parliamentary delegation in the so-called “trilogue” talks which also involved the European Commission were led by MEP Bernd Lange, chair of the trade committee.
Lange said in a statement last night:
“We have just concluded a constructive second trilogue during which we made good progress on the issue of the safeguard mechanism and the review and evaluation of the main regulation, but there is still some way to go.
We will continue to work expeditiously and responsibly on the two legislative proposals to ensure that the letter and the spirit of the Turnberry Deal are honoured, in full respect of our democratic norms, procedures and timelines. The next trilogue will take place on 19 May in Strasbourg.
We remain more committed than ever to advance and defend Parliament’s mandate so as to provide additional guarantees that will benefit citizens and companies in both the EU and the US.”
The 19 May date for next talks will be seen as a positive step however as yesterday Lange’s team were expecting the next date could be as far away as June.
Lange’s committee were looking for three key amendments to the deal hashed out at Trump’s golf course last July.
Jakub Krupa
We should get more on the Latvian incident before long, as we are expecting to hear from the government after this morning’s emergency cabinet meeting.
Crucially, the crash site of the second drone reported within Latvian airspace is yet to be discovered, so let’s see if we hear more on this.
I will keep an eye on this.
Morning opening: Latvia investigates drones ‘from Russia’ after overnight airspace violations
Latvia is investigating two drones which entered its airspace from Russian territory overnight and crashed in eastern part of the country near an empty oil storage facility.
Four empty oil tanks were reported damaged, with minor smouldering reported in one of the tanks. The local public broadcaster captured a drone flying in the area on their camera.
Latvian prime minister Evika Siliņa convened a crisis management meeting for 10am local time. She earlier said she was “in constant communication” with relevant ministers and state institutions.
“After the incident concludes, I expect reports from the responsible ministers on what happened,” she said.
The investigation is still in very early stages, but the drones might have been Ukrainian units that lost their way due to signal jamming, defence minister Andris Sprūds said.
This would not be the first time that a lost Ukrainian drone attacking Russia’s oil terminals loses its way and ends up in a neighbouring Nato country, with similar incidents involving Estonia and Lithuania.
“As long as Russia’s aggression in Ukraine continues, the recurrence of such incidents when a foreign unmanned aircraft enters or approaches Latvian airspace is possible,” the Latvian army said in a statement.
The air warning in the country has now been lifted, but some flight restrictions remain in place.
Elsewhere, I will also keep an eye at US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s visit to see Pope Leo in the Vatican amid a bitter war of words between the US president, Donald Trump, and the pontiff. Before that, Leo – who will mark one year in office tomorrow – will also meet with Poland’s Donald Tusk.
Meanwhile, Hungary’s incoming prime minister Péter Magyar is also expected nearby, as he is due to meet with Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, formerly a close ally of Magyar’s arch-rival Viktor Orbán.
Elsewhere, I am expecting some developments in Bulgaria with Rumen Radev likely to be asked to form the next government, and obviously will continue keeping tabs on the hantavirus-hit cruise that electrified the public opinion worldwide.
Lots to cover.
It’s Thursday, 7 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
