The European Commission is mobilising emergency support to Greece and Albania, which have activated the EU civil protection mechanism in response to severe wildfires.
This month, the European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre mobilised air and ground firefighting resources from several European countries to support Greece.
The organizational support included two rescEU firefighting planes from Italy, a rescEU helicopter from France and a helicopter from Serbia.
Ground firefighting teams were also deployed from the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Serbia and Romania. Firefighters from Malta and Moldova, who had already been deployed to Greece, were among the first responders to fight the fires in Greece.
The aid to Albania includes a multi-purpose military aircraft capable of carrying six tons of water, supplied by Romania.
The EU Commission is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to provide further support as needed.
As part of its measures for this year’s fire season, the EU has strengthened its rescEU and European Civil Protection Pool. It now includes 28 aircraft and four helicopters stationed in 10 member states. In addition, more than 540 firefighters from 12 countries are pre-positioned in key locations across Europe during the wildfire season, ready to support local fire brigades if needed.
Ongoing problem
Europe has suffered increasingly severe fire seasons in recent years. In 2017, one of the worst years on record, more than 100 people died in Portugal. And in 2018, more than 100 people were reported killed in Greece during a fire season triggered by intense heat and prolonged drought. Across Europe, countries such as Spain and Italy have also suffered severely from widespread wildfires over the past decade.
In 2023, thousands of people, including holidaymakers, were evacuated from Croatia, Portugal, Greece, Spain, Italy and Algeria as fires raged across Europe. Airlines operated repatriation flights to some of the hardest-hit destinations, including the Greek islands.
