New Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni gestures during the handover ceremony in Rome. File/AP

Nationalist Meloni has vowed to put Italy's interests first, and the trip will be closely watched amid fears of turbulent relations ahead between the populist government in Rome and the bloc's powerhouses.

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"Brussels should not do what Rome can do best," Meloni was quoted as saying in a book to be published Friday, slamming "a Europe that is invasive in small things and absent in big matters".

In her first international trip since taking office, Meloni meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council chief Charles Michel and European Parliament speaker Roberta Metsola.

It will be the first face-to-face encounter since von der Leyen angered Italy's right-wing parties ahead of the September general election by warning of consequences should the country veer away from democratic principles.

But Italy's first woman prime minister, head of the most far-right government since World War II, will land in the Belgian capital on a diplomatic rather than war footing, political analyst Lorenzo Codogno told the media.

"Meloni is pragmatic and wants to be perceived as a moderate and mainstream leader," he said.

Agence France-Presse