EU assists Greece in fighting forest fires

In an immediate response to a request for assistance from Greece, the EU provided firefighting planes to help stop the spread of forest fires in several parts of the country, including in the outskirts of Athens.

Greece activated the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism on Friday afternoon (17 July) to request the forest firefighting planes. In a matter of hours the EU responded, thanks to France that made available its firefighting planes from the voluntary pool of EU's civil protection assets.

"The EU stands by Greece to help in the response to this natural disaster. We have responded quickly and in full solidarity to the call for assistance. The Commission is grateful to France for its immediate reaction that made the deployment of the planes from the voluntary pool possible. We continue our close contact with the relevant authorities in Athens," said Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Commissioner Christos Stylianides.

France contributed 2 Canadair firefighting planes and a plane that ensures co-ordination. This is the first time that planes have been activated from the EU's civil protection pool of assets for fighting forest fires.

The planes will be deployed from France tomorrow and should arrive to Greece in the afternoon.

Background

The fires broke out on 16 July in Athens (region of Attica), Milesi (north of Athens), Evoia (area of Halkida) and in Lakonia (region of Peloponnese) threatening homes and forcing people to flee.

The ERCC is actively monitoring the fires throughout Europe. It uses national monitoring services and tools such as EFFIS (the European Forest Fire Information System) and satellite imagery to provide an overview of the situation in Europe. Over the summer period, the ERCC also organises weekly co-ordination meetings with the countries that are at high risk of forest fires.

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism facilitates the cooperation in disaster response among 33 European states (28 EU member states, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Montenegro, Norway and Serbia). These participating states pool the resources that can be made available to disaster-stricken countries all over the world. When activated, the Mechanism coordinates the provision of assistance inside and outside the European Union. The European Commission manages the mechanism through the ERCC.

More information:

The European Commission's humanitarian aid and civil protection

Fighting forest fires in Europe – how it works

Factsheet on EU Civil Protection