Leading a new push for tougher asylum policies across Europe, the prime minister yesterday said he was not seeking to create a "fortress Europe".

Following Tony Blair's meeting with Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar, the current holder of the EU presidency, the two leaders agreed that aid should be withheld from countries that fail to cooperate with Europe's border policies.

The plan, put forward following the rise of the far right across Europe, will now be top of the agenda at next month's EU heads of government meeting in Seville. Blair said moves towards a common asylum policy had become "bogged down".

"We are not advocating a fortress Europe," said Blair. "But there has got to be some order and some rules brought into the system whereby people come into Europe."

Meanwhile, today's Express reports that David Blunkett has asked the Treasury for an extra £1 billion every year to pay for the increasing cost of the asylum system.