European Union justice ministers have agreed a package of measures to put pressure on non-EU states to do more to combat illegal immigration.
In particular, they want trade deals and development aid to be conditional on the willingness of developing countries to tackle immigration networks and take back deportees.
The meeting was attended by the new Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell.
In a separate development, European Union interior ministers meeting in Luxembourg have approved a series of measures to manage the bloc's external borders.
The plan will now go before the European Union's heads of government at their summit in Seville next week.
The plan is thought to include the setting up of a specialised centre for detecting criminals who traffic in migrants. This issue is expected to dominate the discussions in Seville.
