Countries which want to profit from alliances with the EU should agree in return to take back their nationals if they have failed to win asylum in the Netherlands, according to junior justice minister Fred Teeven.

Teeven urged his fellow EU ministers to adopt the plan at a meeting in Brussels on Monday, website nu.nl reports.

Currently, many countries refuse to take back refugees who have lost their claims for asylum and their deportation remains an issue. Teeven hopes to bring about a change in this by tying aid, trade and visa liberalisation to deportation rights.

Nu.nl says Teeven has majority support among EU ministers for the plan and is now working out his ideas in greater detail with the European Commission.

‘The voluntary repatriation of illegal immigrations remains difficult in practice, even with payments,’ Teeven is quoted as saying. ‘We want Europe to make demands, so that countries can forget aid if they don’t cooperate in taking back their nationals.’

Meanwhile, ChristenUnie leader Arie Slob has again said his party will pull out of its informal alliance with the government if Teeven presses ahead with making it a criminal offence to be in the Netherlands without proper papers.

Slob met Halbe Zijlstra, parliamentary leader of the ruling VVD, on Monday to discuss his position. After the meeting he said that he made his party’s position clear.

‘If they want to keep us, they should not continue with this proposal,’ Slob said. ChristenUnie, the D66 Liberals and SGP are currently known as the ‘constructive opposition’ because they are working with the government to ensure it has a majority for legislation in the upper house of parliament.