EU deploys assistance to combat wildfires in Greece and Albania

The Commission is mobilising emergency support to Greece and Albania, both of which have activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in response to severe wildfires.

The European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) has immediately mobilised both aerial and ground firefighting resources from several European countries that are part of the Civil Protection Mechanism to assist Greece. This support includes two rescEU firefighting planes from Italy, a rescEU helicopter from France and a helicopter offered by Serbia. Additionally, ground firefighting teams are deployed from Czechia, France, Italy, Serbia and Romania, while Romanian, Maltese and Moldovan firefighters, already prepositioned in Greece, were among the first responders battling the fires in Greece.

The support for Albania includes one multipurpose military plane from Romania with a capacity of 6 tons of water. The plane will be deployed on 14 August.

The Commission is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to deploy further assistance as needed.

As part of its preparedness measures for this year's fire season, the EU has enhanced its rescEU and European Civil Protection Pool, which now includes 28 airplanes and 4 helicopters stationed across 10 Member States. Additionally, during the wildfires season over 540 firefighters from 12 countries are prepositioned in key locations across Europe, ready to assist local fire brigades when necessary.

(For more information: Balazs Ujvari - Tel.: +32 2 295 45 78; Daniel Puglisi - Tel.: +32 2 296 91 40)