US President Donald Trump walks with President of the European Council Donald Tusk in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Reuters 

 

U.S. President Donald Trump met the heads of European Union institutions in Brussels on Thursday ahead of a summit of NATO leaders at the military alliance's headquarters in the city later in the day.

Trump, on the fourth leg of his first foreign trip since taking office, was greeted by European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who chairs meetings of the 28 EU leaders. Also joining the talks will be the bloc's chief executive, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Trump, who voiced scepticism while campaigning about the EU's value and hailed Britain's Brexit vote to quit the bloc, will hear a call from European leaders for him to maintain Washington's longstanding support for integration on the continent, as well to support free trade and efforts to combat climate change.