bannon delivered eusceptic message before pence visit
Saturday 12 July 2025
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Bannon delivered EU-sceptic message before Pence visit

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleBannon delivered EU-sceptic message before Pence visit

White House chief strategist Steve Bannon
Berlin - Arab Today

In the week before U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited Brussels and pledged America's "steadfast and enduring" commitment to the European Union, White House chief strategist Steve Bannon met with a German diplomat and delivered a different message, according to people familiar with the talks.

Bannon, these people said, signalled to Germany's ambassador to Washington that he viewed the EU as a flawed construct and favoured conducting relations with Europe on a bilateral basis. 

Three people who were briefed on the meeting spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The German government and the ambassador, Peter Wittig, declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of the talks. A White House official who checked with Bannon in response to a Reuters query confirmed the meeting had taken place but said the account provided to Reuters was inaccurate.

"They only spoke for about three minutes and it was just a quick hello," the official said.

The sources described a longer meeting in which Bannon took the time to spell out his world view.

They said his message was similar to the one he delivered to a Vatican conference back in 2014 when he was running the right-wing website Breitbart News.

In those remarks, delivered via Skype, Bannon spoke favourably about European populist movements and described a yearning for nationalism by people who "don't believe in this kind of pan-European Union."

Western Europe, he said at the time, was built on a foundation of "strong nationalist movements", adding: "I think it's what can see us forward".

The encounter unsettled people in the German government, in part because some officials had been holding out hope that Bannon might temper his views once in government and offer a more nuanced message on Europe in private.

One source briefed on the meeting said it had confirmed the view that Germany and its European partners must prepare for a policy of "hostility towards the EU".

A second source expressed concern, based on his contacts with the administration, that there was no appreciation for the EU's role in ensuring peace and prosperity in post-war Europe.

"There appears to be no understanding in the White House that an unravelling of the EU would have grave consequences," the source said.

The White House said there was no transcript of the conversation.

The sources who had been briefed on it described it as polite and stressed there was no evidence Trump was prepared to go beyond his rhetorical attacks on the EU - he has repeatedly praised Britain's decision to leave - and take concrete steps to destabilise the bloc.

But anxiety over the White House stance led French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, to issue unusual calls last week for Pence to affirm during his visit to Europe that the U.S. was not aiming to break up the EU. Pence obliged on Monday in Brussels, pledging strong ties between the United States and the EU, and making clear his message was shared by the president.

"President Trump and I look forward to working together with you and the European Union to deepen our political and economic partnership," he said.

But the message did not end the concerns in European capitals.

"We are worried and we should be worried," Thomas Matussek, senior adviser at Flint Global and a former German ambassador to the Britain and the United Nations, told Reuters.

"No one knows anything at the moment about what sort of decisions will be coming out of Washington. But it is clear that the man on top and the people closest to him feel that it's the nation state that creates identity and not what they see as an amorphous group of countries like the EU."

With elections looming in the Netherlands, France and Germany this year, European officials said they hoped Pence, Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson could convince Trump to work constructively with the EU.

The worst-case scenario from Europe's point of view was described by Ischinger in an article published last week, entitled "How Europe should deal with Trump".

He said that if the U.S. administration actively supported right-wing populists in the looming election campaigns it would trigger a "major transatlantic crisis".

Source :Times Of Oman

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

bannon delivered eusceptic message before pence visit bannon delivered eusceptic message before pence visit

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 08:26 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Five things to know about Davos

GMT 09:08 2015 Sunday ,01 November

England remove Pakistan openers in third Test

GMT 07:44 2017 Tuesday ,24 October

Macron faces rights test as Egypt's Sisi visits Paris

GMT 21:29 2017 Tuesday ,07 March

Maguire confident Tigers can claw out of danger

GMT 10:27 2017 Sunday ,24 September

Tullow Oil to restart drilling in Ghana after ruling

GMT 07:33 2015 Sunday ,18 October

Spain's Rins win Australian Moto2 GP

GMT 08:51 2017 Sunday ,24 December

Zimbabwe ex-army chief Chiwenga named ruling party VP

GMT 20:13 2017 Thursday ,16 March

Bowling, table tennis achievements lauded

GMT 09:40 2017 Monday ,04 December

Stade down Racing, Clermont edge plucky Agen

GMT 14:36 2017 Tuesday ,21 February

Israeli Forces Detain Five Palestinians in Hebron

GMT 13:01 2011 Thursday ,01 December

World\'s longest model train in hamburg

GMT 01:29 2015 Thursday ,12 February

Qatar's PM meets Iraqi president

GMT 11:37 2017 Tuesday ,10 October

Nuzman stays in prison in Rio graft probe

GMT 14:39 2017 Wednesday ,08 March

Bird flu hits US poultry imports to Asia

GMT 11:50 2012 Thursday ,02 August

Mobiles, Internet cut in Syria\'s Aleppo

GMT 21:13 2017 Saturday ,10 June

South Africa shock Nigeria in CAN qualifier

GMT 00:26 2017 Saturday ,04 March

Real Madrid legend Raymond Kopa dies aged 85

GMT 21:17 2017 Sunday ,22 October

Saudi Arabia has historical ties to Iraq

GMT 16:57 2014 Tuesday ,07 January

Best modern sofa trends

GMT 10:34 2017 Sunday ,27 August

The Sunday Times Style names features editor
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle