PRIME Minister Tony Blair arrived for an EU summit in Greece last night and launched straight into talks on Europe's growing asylum and immigration problems.

Mr Blair looked certain to win backing from fellow European leaders for his plan to set up "zones of protection" to vet asylum seekers before they enter any EU country.

The pre-dinner meeting in a resort overlooking the Aegean Sea was expected to agree pilot projects to see if Mr Blair's idea could work in practice.

The move would involve establishing experimental reception centres for asylum seekers close to their home countries, long before their hopes are raised then dashed and money lost to traffickers herding them across continents on vague promises of a new life.

The United Nations High Commission on Refugees welcomed the plan, and a British government spokesman said Mr Blair's hope was to see such centres in operation before the end of the year.

As the EU leaders flew in for their three-day summit, European Commission President Romano Prodi said developing a common European policy on asylum and immigration was a high priority.

But EU leaders are being accused of erecting new barriers to migration flows without tackling the root causes.

Only days ago, Mr Blair was forced to abandon an earlier suggestion of installing "transit camps" on the EU's borders after fears were voiced that such herding of people could break the Geneva Convention on Refugees.