Brussels, 26/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - While the call for applications for 2001 (available on Internet on 26 January: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/culture/index_en.html) has just been published, the European Commission gives a satisfactory report of the first year of the Community "Culture 2000" programme. Out of 1023 applicants, 219 cultural cooperation projects received Community funding, for a sum exceeding EUR 32 million. European Culture Commissioner Viviane Reding expressed her satisfaction at seeing "Europe's creators giving increasing commitment to transnational cooperation projects". "Europe's strength lies in its linguistic and cultural diversity, and despite its modest budget a programme like Culture 2000 helps to build a Europe of the people by providing opportunities for exchanges between our national cultures", she added.