Exclusive - White House delivered EU-sceptic message before Pence visit: sources


White House senior advisor Steve Bannon - the populist firebrand fast emerging as the president's right-hand man - has taken a hard line in the first days of the Trump presidency. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

BERLIN (Reuters) - 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.

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