Brussels, 02/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - The Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen has stated that the follow-up to the Euro-African conference on migration and development (Rabat, 10-11 July) has started. The political commitments taken at this conference "must now be maintained, at both national and EU level", said Mr Vanhanen in a letter sent to the eight European Heads of State and Government who recently asked him about the issue of immigration (EUROPE 9273) (our translation throughout). The Prime Minister said that preparations for the EU/Africa Conference, planned for the end of the month of November in Tripoli, and for the ministerial meeting of Euromed countries (2007), were already underway. He called on the 25 to make available the necessary resources to conclude negotiations on readmissions, which have been underway for nearly a year with Morocco, and voiced his willingness to enter "without delay" into similar negotiations with Algeria. Underlining the need to deal with the problem of migration within the framework of a partnership with the origin and transit countries, Mr Vanhanen stressed the importance of actions in the longer term and political coherence, in order that "we can act sustainably on the causes of illegal immigration, instead of simply trying to stop both good and bad". He also said that he supported the "concrete implementation of effective maritime surveillance", mainly via the External Borders Agency (Frontex), a swift examination of the draft regulation bringing in a mechanism to create rapid intervention teams on the borders (RABIT), and a follow-up to the European solidarity initiative, launched by the Presidency at the most recent JHA Council in Tampere (EUROPE 9272). Lastly, he called for improvements to the decision-making process on legal immigration, so that "appropriate and timely decisions can be taken".