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Later on Thursday Guenter Verheugen also met the Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda for talks on the Czech Republic's preparations for EU accession proposed for 2004. Stating the current EU's financial assistance as an example, Mr Svoboda said the Czech Republic would benefit from its membership in the Union. He also said the aid would have been bigger if the country were already a member. The European Union intends to establish a fund aimed at helping member states to overcome natural disasters. By the end of this year 500 million euro will be available in the fund for the flooded countries of Austria and Germany but also for the Czech Republic.

Prague authorities have announced the city is safe and as beautiful as ever in order to reassure foreign visitors who might be apprehensive because of the recent flood. According to the city's mayor Igor Nemec foreign media are still presenting what he termed "an apocalyptic image of Prague". The city is suffering major losses in tourism revenues as visitors are cancelling their stays. The city-hall has said the renewal of the flooded areas is progressing fast. On Wednesday Prague's 14th-century Charles Bridge reopened to the public and as of Thursday, boats will be cruising again on the river in the centre of Prague.

President Vaclav Havel has thanked the European Union's commissioner for enlargement Guenter Verheugen for the financial aid the EU has provided to the flood-hit Czech Republic. After meeting President Havel at Prague Castle on Thursday, Mr Verheugen told journalists the European Union had offered the Czech Republic 58 million euro from the funds aimed at supporting candidate countries. The European Investment Bank has offered the country a loan of up to 200 million euro. According to first estimates the Czech Republic has suffered damage worth up to 3 billion euro.

The German Environment Ministry has announced experts found no dangerous chemicals in the river Elbe which flows to Germany from the Czech Republic. Authorities in the republic of Saxony which was worst affected by the recent floods were afraid toxic chemicals could have leaked from flooded chemical plants in the Czech Republic, namely the Spolana plant north of Prague. Although the concentration of heavy metals and organic waste has increased in the river, the levels don't exceed Germany's safety norms.

The Czech government said it wanted to obtain money for financing repairs of flood damage by increasing indirect taxes, including the VAT and consumer tax on petrol, tobacco and alcohol.

Czech retail sales dropped by 0.5 percent year-on-year in June in real terms, while in May they increased by 3.2 per cent, the Czech Statistical Office reported.

If you were to stand along the embankment of the Vltava river that runs through Prague, you would no longer find it to be a romantic and soothing experience but would probably be forced to turn away in disgust instead. With over sixty water treatment facilities damaged by the devastating floods that hit the country at the start of the month, waste from the sewer system is now being flushed directly into several Czech rivers. Whilst in most cases the situation is under control, the amount of waste in the Vltava river that runs through the Czech

The Industry and Trade Ministry is preparing a special help programme for businesses affected by the recent floods, particularly small and mid-sized businesses.

Prague's 14th-century Charles Bridge reopened to the public on Wednesday, two weeks after it was closed and nearly submerged in heavy floods. There were concerns the bridge would be seriously damaged by the swollen River Vltava, but the famous monument appears to have emerged intact. The bridge was badly damaged in 1890, when several columns were swept away by the swollen river. Charles Bridge is one of Prague's most popular tourist attractions.

Greenpeace has included Spolana in its "Company Crimes" report presented at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. Greenpeace has expressed grave concern over the activities of Spolana, saying that the plant's management has withheld information on matters that posed a serious threat to the public. Greenpeace has repeatedly highlighted the danger of poisonous dioxins and an estimated 25,000 kilograms of poisonous mercury which are stored at Spolana.