After France and Spain activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, the European Union is actively providing assistance to fight the ongoing forest fires.
The EU is coordinating the deployment in France of eight firefighting aircraft from Croatia, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey and Luxembourg and four helicopters from the Czech Republic, Germany and Slovakia. Most of the aircraft are from the EU's common air fleet for fighting natural disasters and the rescEU strategic reserve.
Six aircraft from Greece, Italy and Turkey, one helicopter from Serbia and 174 staff and 60 specialist vehicles from Portugal and Serbia have been deployed to Spain.
The EU has also made preparations ahead of the forest fire season by deploying 331 firefighters from Romania, Slovakia, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Poland to high-risk areas in France and Spain. This has allowed firefighters to immediately intervene in support of national response services. The Bulgarian team of 40 firefighters is deployed in the Galicia region in north-west Spain and has been involved in fighting the fires for the whole month.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “When Europe faces a disaster, Europeans act together. I would like to thank every Bulgarian firefighter who is protecting lives and communities across the European Union. Your courage and dedication are the clearest expression of European solidarity.“
At the same time, the European satellite system “Copernicus“ is providing detailed mapping to support the actions on the ground. The EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre is in close contact with the French and Spanish authorities to assess what additional assistance can be mobilised. A European Commission representative is assisting the French authorities in Bordeaux in coordinating European assistance.
Today, Commissioner for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality, Hadja Labib, will visit Gironde, one of the most affected regions in France, to express the solidarity of the European Union.
When a country requests assistance through the European Civil Protection Mechanism, the request is shared with all 37 participating countries. Each country can offer planes, helicopters, firefighting teams, equipment or experts, and the Commission coordinates and co-finances their deployment.