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To: smolejv@gmx.net who wrote (22831)	8/18/2002 10:52:44 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

Floods are also good for the economy. Now that water have receded most probably you'll get some actions form the European Union to invest money in infrastructure through a relief emergency fund. It end up being positive for the economies during this recession where no money is available due to high risks. It end up that those Europeans may be praying for the El Nino (the new born Jesus Christ) next Xmas. Call the wet abracadabra. As you see help to kick-start the economy come from the most unsuspected places. EU nations agree aid as floods hit north By Bertrand Benoit in Frankfurt and Robert Wright in Budapest Published: August 18 2002 18:23 \| Last Updated: August 19 2002 1:05 Central European governments and the EU Commission on Sunday announced emergency measures for flood-stricken regions as the continent's worst flooding in over a century spread to northern Germany and Hungary. More than 100 deaths have been reported so far in Germany, Russia, Austria and the Czech Republic. While damage remains difficult to evaluate, Allianz, the insurance group, said it could cost €15bn ($14.6bn). The measures were agreed at a meeting of heads of governments and foreign ministers of Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, convened in Berlin by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and attended by Romano Prodi, European Commission president. Mr Schröder said EU funds already available for poorer regions would be reallocated to cover reconstruction. Rules on government aid and contracts would also be simplified. The affected countries will also propose the creation next year of an EU emergency relief fund worth up to €500m, which will also be available for EU candidate countries. The relief aid will have to be approved by the European parliament, which a few years ago cancelled a similar fund because it regarded it as too small and rarely used, leaving the Commission without a budget to cope with natural disasters. In addition, the European Investment Bank, the EU's lending and development arm, said it would offer farmers in affected countries low-interest loans worth up to a total €1bn. While Mr Schröder declined to put a figure on the total amount of aid, he said Germany's budget deficit would not rise above the maximum set by the eurozone stability pact as a result. As tens of thousands of people along the Elbe and adjoining rivers were being evacuated, the catastrophe had become the main issue of Germany's political campaign ahead of September 22's national election. Hoping to reclaim the initiative from Mr Schröder, Edmund Stoiber, the conservative candidate, called for a €2bn relief fund to be financed from budget cuts and "excess" central bank profits. Budapest, the Hungarian capital, faced some of the highest water levels ever recorded on the Danube on Sunday. Thousands of people were working to shore up temporary dikes to protect low-lying areas of the city. As the flood's crest moved downstream towards the North Sea, officials in Germany said the Elbe had breached dams near Torgau, one of northern Europe's finest renaissance towns, and Wittenberg, where Martin Luther launched the Reformation in 1517.