For her fire season which is not yet over and every day we still have dozens of fires, the effort made this year both at the level of forest fire prevention and management with the result that burned acres are less than the average of the last 20 years, the implementation of the AEGIS program, but also about the placement of the Prime Minister yesterday in the Parliament, the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection spoke, Vassilis Kikilias in an interview he gave.

As the minister said, “the fire season has actually lasted 6 months. Six months of a huge battle by our firefighters, our volunteers, Civil Protection, the aerial means, but also the rest of the security bodies and the Armed Forces who have fought more than 8,000 fires, with 200 of them very serious. I must once again, as the Prime Minister did yesterday from the Parliament, thank everyone for this shocking effort in a very difficult fire fighting period, the most difficult of the last 40 years, which everyone recognizes. The National Observatory, EMY, all the scientists and experts”. He added that there can be no discussion of a positive sign when we talk about crisis and natural disaster management, despite the fact that this year in these extremely adverse conditions, fewer acres were burned than the 20-year average.

The minister also referred to the weight given this year to prevention measures and interventions, such as the clearing of plots, peri-urban and forest areas, the opening of fire zones, 24-hour surveillance by drones and water-laden aerial patrols over high-risk areas. .

He also emphasized that the AEGIS equipment program, amounting to 2.1 billion euros, continues to be implemented at a rapid pace and contracts are constantly being signed for emblematic projects, such as the supply of Canadair, 24 amphibious aircraft (air tractors), 3 air surveillance aircraft, 1,200 new fire engines, artificial intelligence systems, weather stations, radar, etc.

Finally, to a question about yesterday’s debate in the Parliament, Mr. Kikilias answered:

“First of all, the prime minister correctly, institutionally and inside the Parliament – not in an interview, not in parapolitics – was positioned. And we had a long time to see, to go to the heart of politics against a political opponent, SYRIZA, for whom the president of the Parliamentary Group is Nikos Pappas and he has been convicted by the Greek Justice. This was a political position, correct. And to Mr. Androulakis, because there he also set a framework with which we will proceed politically and either agree or disagree. And he held him to account as well, as someone who would like to become an official opposition at some point should be. In everything to do with the former president, as well as all the former presidents of the New Democracy, and this is if you want a conquest of all these years from the time of the late Konstantinos Mitsotakis until now. We do not comment on our former presidents and they are free to say what they believe. They have earned it by being presidents and prime ministers. We didn’t do it then and as you can see we don’t do it now either.”