Brussels, 03/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 3 October in Brussels, the Spanish vice prime minister, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, announced that her government supported the majority of Commission immigration initiatives, particularly the fact that they had made the Frontex operation, off the Canaries coast, permanent as from February 2008. Immigration Commissioner Franco Frattini announced that the agency's 2008 budget would be rising to €72 million. Ms de la Vega and Mr Frattini reached an agreement on proposing that the European Investment Bank help the central banks and financial bodies from the immigrants' countries of origin to use the money sent by their nationals to fund economic development projects. They also confirmed that immigration would be among the main themes at the Euromed ministerial meeting on 18-19 November (Algarve) and the EU-Africa summit, planned for 8-9 December in Lisbon. Ms de la Vega mentioned the adoption of a declaration on immigration, in view of the December European Council. She also said that she wanted immigration on the EU-Latin America summit agenda next year in Lima. (bc)