Senior Donald Trump aide warns European Union it can expect 'hostility' after Brexit
A senior aide to Donald Trump has warned the European Union that it can expect "hostility" after Britain leaves the European Union, according to reports.
Steve Bannon, the White House chief strategist, is understood to have informed Germany's ambassador to Washington that the new US administration hopes to conduct future relations with Europe on a bilateral basis.
The President's aide also told Peter Wittig that he viewed the EU as a flawed construct, sources have told Reuters.
The meeting happened just a week before U.S. Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Brussels to reassure leaders that the Trump administration will maintain and develop decades of partnership in trade and security.
Sources who were briefed on the meeting said the talks between Mr Bannon and Mr Wittig had confirmed the view that European leaders should prepare for a policy of "hostility towards the EU".
The German government and the ambassador, MrWittig, declined to comment, citing the confidential nature of the diplomatic talks.
A White House official said the account provided to Reuters by three sources was inaccurate.
The official said: "They only spoke for about three minutes and it was just a quick hello".
One source told the news agency that the US had demonstrated no appreciation for the EU's role in ensuring peace across Europe.
"There appears to be no understanding in the White House that an unraveling of the EU would have grave consequences," the source said.
Another suggested Mr Bannon's message was similar to comments he made to a Vatican conference in 2014, in which he said people across Europe are yearning for nationalism because they "don't believe in this kind of pan-European Union."
The latest diplomatic incident comes after an outgoing US ambassador suggested that Mr Trump supports the break-up of the European Union in the wake of Brexit.
Anthony Gardner, who is departing as ambassador to the EU, said that senior figures in the president-elect’s transition team had been asking EU officials which countries will follow Britain in voting to leave the bloc.
Mr Trump has made no secret of his support for Brexit and has repeatedly praised Nigel Farage.
