The phone call on Sunday (May 25) between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. President Donald Trump gave trade talks between the two blocks a new impetus, a European Commission spokesperson said on Monday (May 26).

Trump backed away from 50% tariffs on EU imports from June 1 after the call. The spokesperson said the call was initiated by von der Leyen, but declined to give any details of the discussion between the two leaders.

EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic will have a call with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday afternoon, the Commission said.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (MAY 26, 2025) (EUROPEAN UNION - Access all)

1. EU SPOKESPERSON PAULA PINHO APPROACHING LECTERN (MUTE)

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN COMMISSION SPOKESPERSON, PAULA PINHO, SAYING:

"First of all, it was a good call indeed, as was also noted in the social media post by President von der Leyen, and confirmed by President Trump himself when he spoke to the press yesterday. So basically, they agreed both to fast-track the trade negotiations and to stay in close contact. Now, in terms of what were the details of the discussions, we will not enter into that. But what I can say, we are talking about, of course, the world's single largest and closest trading relation. So these negotiations are complex, and so they are taking time. Now, with this call, there's now also a new impetus for the negotiations, and we will take it from there. It's positive to see that there's engagement also at the level of the presidents."

3. JOUNRALIST ASKING QUESTION

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN COMMISSION SPOKESPERSON, PAULA PINHO, SAYING:

"And from our side, we always said that we were ready to make a deal. Now, in terms of negotiations, as you know, we have a very good negotiating team in place, led by (Trade) Commissioner (Maros) Sefcovic, who is bringing forward the discussions. This was now the moment for a contact at Presidents level. And in the meantime, the discussions will continue as early as already this afternoon, where Commissioner Sefcovic will have a call with (U.S.) Secretary for Trade (Howard) Lutnick."

5. PINHO ON STAGE

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (FILE - MARCH 13, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

6. VARIOUS OF EU COMMISSION BUILDING DRONE SHOTS