CENTRAL EUROPE FLOODS: FOCUS 24 October 2003 ON CZECH REPUBLIC, ROMANIA AND SLOVAKIA
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Appeal No. 25/2002; Launched on: 15 August 2002 for 3 months for CHF1,668,000 to assist 450,000 beneficiaries.

by Jan Tucek

PRAGUE, Aug 12 (AFP) - A year after floods devastated Prague, the 800-year-old city's prime tourist spots no longer bear the scars but elsewhere the hard work of repairing 2.5 billion euros' worth of damage continues.

The Vltava river burst its banks and submerged the Czech capital's historic centre under three metres (more than nine feet) of water as the flood crest passed through Prague on August 14th in the worst flooding seen here in more than a century.

Today the picturesque Kampa district seems to have sacrificed none of its charm, but in the worst-hit area,

PRAGUE, March 26 (CTK) - The government approved today the Finance Ministry's proposal for the distribution of over Kc4bn that the Czech Republic has received from the EU Solidarity Fund for covering damage caused by last year's catastrophic floods, cabinet spokeswoman Anna Starkova said.

Each affected region will thus get the same percentage of the value of damage it has suffered.

The EUR129m (Kc4.087bn) will be distributed as follows: Kc1.095bn for covering the costs of rescue work and liquidation of damage and Kc2.286bn for rebuilding flood-hit areas, with each region

By Callie Long
Prague/Geneva, March 14, 2003 - At the end of 2002, Luci Svobodníková faced the task of rebuilding her home and her life. Physically. At 76, her hands and clothes bore testimony to the back-breaking work involved in trying to salvage her home of 23 years, that had nearly been destroyed by the floods that hit the small village of Ceské Kopisty in the northern part of the Czech Republic during the fall.

There was no running water and no electricity. Winter would be bitter and spring not much easier. To keep warm, she was

The year of the great flood ended, symbolically, with fresh floods. Prague itself has yet to return to normal.
by Pavla Kozakova

PRAGUE, Czech Republic--This was not much of a Christmas for the victims of the devastating floods that struck the Czech Republic last August. In the worst-hit Prague district, Karlin, the Christmas lights, busy shops, and street sellers of carp, the traditional fare for Christmas dinner, were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the streets remain quiet, dusty and littered, with virtually all ground-floor

Reference: 2002-128

During his visit to Prague today, Mr. Wolfgang Roth, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Luxembourg, signed a loan with the Czech Minister of Finance, Mr. Bohuslav Sobotka, for EIB's participation in the financing of repairs of damages caused by the floods of August 2002.

EIB will lend a total of EUR 400 million to cover part of the State budget needs for rebuilding infrastructure damaged by the floods in the Czech Republic. The loan conditions are in line with EIB's support for the other Central European countries hit by the August

IP/02/1940
Brussels, 19 December 2002 - Michel Barnier, Commissioner for regional policy, and Bohuslav Sobotka, the Czech Minister of Finance, have signed an agreement involving € 129 million in assistance for the regions affected by the floods last August. This is one of the first four aid packages paid for out of the European Union Solidarity Fund. This Fund, proposed by the Commission in September, has been set up within three months with a view to providing quick EU emergency assistance after major disasters. The sums being allocated to the Czech

PRAGUE, Nov 27 (CTK) - The Chamber of Deputies today passed the law on a Kc12bn loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) which the government wants to use for the repair of damage caused by the summer disastrous floods, drawing Kc7.5bn next year and the remaining Kc4.5bn in 2004.

Deputies for the Civic Democratic Party ODS expressed some reservations about the bill arguing that while MPs will continue to discuss a draft state budget for next year with a proposed deficit of Kc111.3bn with the loan the deficit will actually rise to Sk119bn.

IP/02/1662
Brussels, 13 November 2002 - The European Commission today proposed to grant € 728 million to help relieve damage caused by this summer's heavy floods. The first use of the newly created European Union Solidarity Fund would free up € 444 million for Germany, € 134 million for Austria, € 129 million for the Czech Republic and € 21 million for France. The Solidarity Fund was set up in the space of three months to allow for rapid financial assistance in the event of a major disaster and is now fully in place. The Fund can be