In using the rainbow flag as an instrument to castigate whole countries, we might thus unwittingly contribute to isolating LGBTI people in countries such as Poland and Hungary, rather than bringing people along in support of equality. The focus is on maintaining the facade that the EU has set up to gather still more competences at the supranational level and, ultimately, extend the reach of the handful of Western countries that are de facto running Europe. The European Council, which practically decides on the broad themes of EU policy, is an inter-governmental institution where the power balance between member-states tilts decisions in favour of the powerful countries, typically the Franco-German tandem.