Brussels, 12/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - The President of the European Commission and the President of the European Parliament jointly wrote to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to announce their sadness after the serious flooding that hit Algiers over the weekend and to send their condolences. "I have given precise instructions for the possibility of providing aid to the victims of this disaster to be examined, as soon as an estimate has been made of the most urgent needs", said Romano Prodi in his message. Nicole Fontaine, for her part, said she was "deeply distressed". She calls on the "European Union to rally together to grant massive emergency aid to the Algerian population", asking for such aid to also be used to help reconstruction of Algiers.