(Brussels) The European Council that ended in Brussels late last night was an opportunity for discussion for the 28 Heads of State and Government. But the main issues facing Europe are still to be addressed, amidst pressures that are both internal, with the rise of populist movements, and external, with issues related to migration and security. Attending the Council for the first time was Italy’s new Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, together with several European leaders heading towards national elections (who therefore tended to postpone the most burning issues) such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande, as well as other politically weakened leaders such as Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who leads a minority government, and British Prime Minister Theresa May whose country is about to leave the EU. And then the leaders of the Visegrad Group – Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary – who are against any further European integration and are now in an ever stronger position. In this political situation, it is difficult to make any decision. Indeed, the revision of Dublin and of the right to asylum was postponed, which means that Italy will have to continue to take care of migrants crossing the Mediterranean without other European countries being obliged to provide assistance. The decision was made to give €600 million in aid to Niger to stop migration flows towards Europe, in similar terms as the agreement with Turkey. Other decisions made include the extension of sanctions against Russia for its relations with Ukraine, political pressure for the situation in Syria, and humanitarian aid. Finally, the common defence policy made a small step forward with the efforts to coordinate the European military industry.