The prime minister and his Spanish counterpart, Jose Maria Aznar, yesterday pledged to reach a Europe-wide agreement on asylum and immigration at the Seville summit.

"I have no doubt at all we will reach agreement on a package of measures that I think everyone understands now is extremely important to tackle the problems of illegal immigration and asylum," Tony Blair said in Downing Street.

Number 10 is said to view the summit as a chance to prove that the European Union can work together, with possible positive benefits for the pro-euro campaign.