Strasbourg, 20/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - With the adoption, last Thursday, of the report by Maria Carrilho (Socialist, Portugal) on the proposed amendment of the regulation on decentralised cooperation, the Parliament expressed its determination to continue along the road of sustainable development initiatives and actions, not only those already existing but also complementary actions, undertaken by actors from the civil society, the EU and the developing countries. It said it was also determined to pass from "an experimental phase to a consolidation phase" of the concept. Fixing the financial allocation of the programme at EUR 24 million for the period 1999-2003, the Parliament enlarged the scope of financial support to educational and cultural organisations as well as to the organisations of indigenous peoples. MEPs considered that cultural development is an important part of any sustainable development. The Parliament, moreover, voted an amendment stressing that the establishment of a future strategic decentralised cooperation framework involves assessment of activities financed by the EU as well as a general debate on decentralised cooperation. Finally, the Parliament calls on the Commission to re-examine its guidelines and to adopt priorities regarding the implementation of actions every two years in order to identify, confirm or introduce priorities.