Brussels, 18 July 2022
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism continues to channel assistance to respond to the severe forest fires breaking out across Europe. Over the weekend, Slovenia activated the mechanism asking for support to battle a forest fire in Nova Gorica, close to the Italian border. Following this request, 1 plane from the rescEU reserve stationed in Croatia was deployed to strengthen the response in the most affected areas, where by now the fires were brought under control.
Over the course of the weekend, the Emergency Response Coordination Centre also activated the Copernicus satellite service to support French authorities monitor the situation of forest fires in the southwestern region of the country. This comes on top of the 2 firefighting planes deployed last week from the rescEU fleet to help fight forest fires in France.
Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said:
“Forest fires represent an unpredictable threat lingering on all of us and therefore requires immediate action. Our Civil Protection Mechanism has mobilised aid for Slovenia and is tirelessly monitoring the situation in France and all over Europe. I thank Croatia and all the Member States for their continued support. The EU’s 24/7 Emergency Response Coordination Centre stands ready to coordinate further assistance.”
The European Union’s 24/7 Emergency Response Coordination Centre is in regular contact with the relevant national authorities to closely monitor the situation and channel the EU assistance.
Source – EU Commission