Brussels, 18/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - By adopting, last week in Strasbourg - by 381 votes in favour, 40 against and 18 abstentions - the report by Maria Antonia Avilès Perea (EPP-ED, Spain) on targets for equal opportunities between men and women in the use of structural funds, the Parliament called for equal opportunities to be widened to funds other than the European social fund, as much remains to be done in the fields of the environment, transport, rural development and fishing, among others. Thus, the Parliament invites the Commission and the Member States to: 1) ensure that the mid-way assessment to take place in 2003 will determine, on the one hand, the extent to which the target of integrating equal opportunities in the actions of funds has been acknowledged and, on the other hand, the degree to which the target has been achieved, the nature and the amount of credits allocated to specific actions for equal opportunities; and 2) introduce, on the basis of this assessment any necessary changes to the programming of the actions, for the remainder of the programming period. As for the candidate countries, they are invited to implement targeted measures in favour of women who experience specific difficulties in remaining or entering the employment market after having completed a significant part, or the totality, of their education or vocational training under the former political and economic system.