Forest fires: EU ensures presence of European firefighters in Greece throughout the 2022 fire season

Financed and coordinated under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, more than 200 firefighters and technical equipment from Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Romania and Norway will be positioned in the country to allow for immediate support to Greek first responders in case of large wildfires.

“It is clear that we are facing a global weather change and that requires us Europeans to respond  jointly. In August 2021, Greece witnessed about 65 simultaneous forest fires per day with average temperatures often exceeding 40℃. Together with the Greek authorities we have therefore agreed the stand-by presence of more than 200 highly skilled firefighters from across our continent to support national first responders when fires break out. This will not only ensure a faster response but also an important exchange of knowledge for all firefighters involved and I thank all countries participating in this operation”, said Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič.

This strengthened cooperation of European fire services with Greece follows the particularly fierce forest fire season of 2021.

It comes in addition to the EU’s measures on forest fire preparedness which also include the rescEU fleet of firefighting aircraft available to Member States and participating states to the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.