Internal security and migration were the main points discussed at the European Council on 18 October. The EU leaders called for the fight against migrant smugglers by cooperating more with countries outside the EU, creating a joint task force at Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre and better monitoring and disrupting smugglers’ online communications. The European Council discussed also the return policy, emphasizing that more should be done to enable effective returns. The Austrian presidency briefed leaders on the draft reform of the asylum system and the Council encouraged the presidency to continue its work in order to conclude it as soon as possible. The importance of observing the situation in the western Mediterranean and strengthening cooperation with Morocco on migration was also stressed.