Fires, EU civil defense in North Macedonia and Bulgaria. Brussels: “Prepared for summer”

Brussels – “Unfortunately, the fires continue” to affect continental Europe. Based on this awareness and news events, the European Commission is working to counter one of the main pitfalls of the hot season, admits Balasz Ujvari, spokesman for the EU executive responsible for crisis management. Crises such as those affecting North Macedonia and Bulgaria, for which the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has gone live and the operations room has become operational for real.

Faced with the fires developed in North Macedonia, Macedonian authorities have requested twelve-star assistance. Four helicopters and three Canadair were mobilised for Skopje, provided by Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey, and team rescEU, the EU civil defence. For the flames that broke out in Bulgaria, two helicopters were provided by the Czech Republic and rescEU. An immediate response, which will not be the last. “We remain ready to provide additional support if needed,” assures Crisis Management Commissioner Janes Lenarcic. “Fires know no boundaries, and neither does our commitment to help them.” 

In Brussels, they are aware of what is on the horizon, not least in the wake of past experiences made up of numerous and extensive fires, as evidenced by last year’s crisis. A fire larger than New York City broke out in August a year ago in Greece alone. That is also why, assures Commission spokesman Uijvari, “we have made significant preparations ahead of the summer” to respond to the fire emergency. He points out that, as EU, for the EU Civil Protection Mechanism “we have over 500 firefighters throughout the Union.”

Specifically, there are a total of 556 firefighters already “strategically placed in key locations in Europe, such as France, Greece, Portugal, and Spain, ready to help local firefighters.” As far as means are concerned, the spokesman continued, for the summer of 2024 alone, the Commission has been able to assemble a fleet of 28 Canadairs and four helicopters. The unspoken wish is that they should be used as little as possible. However, the EU is on alert and ready to take action against the expected fires.