Prodi promises European Union aid to deal with flood damage

The president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, has visited Prague to assess the situation following the severe floods; on Friday morning, he and Czech President Vaclav Havel flew over some flooded areas by helicopter, and visited an evacuation centre in Litomerice. The European Union has pledged to give the Czech Republic some 58 million euros in aid for the areas affected by the flooding. The money will mostly be spent on repairing infrastructure. Mr Havel thanked Mr Prodi for the solidarity the EU had shown with the Czech Republic.