ROME, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Bilateral talks between Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and president of the European Union (EU) Council Donald Tusk were held in the Italian capital on Wednesday.
The meeting took part at the government's Chigi Palace, as part of usual bilateral consultations Tusk was carrying out with EU partners ahead of an informal summit on Feb. 23 in Brussels.
The two leaders focused their talks on the Brexit, and on the possible planning of a multi-year EU budget, since these two issues would be on top of the agenda of the next EU summit.
No press conference was held after the talks, but Tusk said on Twitter that they had a "very good discussion".
Before his short visit to Rome, the president of the European Council had already held consultations with counterparts from Romania, Portugal, Holland, Germany, France, Croatia, Austria, and Cyprus, among others. Tusk's pre-summit tour would end in Lithuania on Thursday and Friday.
On Feb. 23, the 27 leaders of the EU (except Britain) will take part in an informal gathering, for discussions that are meant to be "future-oriented", the European Council said in a statement.
Apart from Brexit and budget, other priorities at the summit would include defense and security, and illegal immigration to Europe.
