Egypt and Tunisia have shown little or no interest in striking deals with Brussels to drive down migrant crossings from North Africa to Europe, according to leaked EU documents.

The papers revealed Brussels has made scant progress in deepening co-operation with the two countries on border control and returns.

The revelations will be a blow to Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, not least because the EU has already paid both countries hundreds of millions of euros.

She has pledged to secure more “third country deals” to cut illegal sea crossings as leaders of EU governments demand Brussels cracks down on migrants.