Once a supporter of Britain's decision to leave the EU, President Donald Trump has now said a "strong" Europe is "very, very important" for the US. "Yes, a strong Europe is very, very important to me as President of the United States. And it is also, in my very strong opinion, important for the US," he told reporters on Thursday at a White House press conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. "We want to see it. We will help it be strong, and it is very much to everybody's advantage," said the US President, who had once said Britain would be "better off" without the European bloc.
To a question on his visit to Italy this summer to attend the G-7 Summit, he said he looks forward to meeting Pope Francis. Gentiloni said he is confident in the future of the European Union. "I told President Trump that we have confidence, even though this is a difficult moment, in the future of the European Union and certainly in the importance of the relationship between the US and Italy," he said. "We are going through a difficult time, but I have confidence that the European Union will continue to be a positive response to this," he said.
