The European Commission’s support during this year’s firefighting period to the Member States will be enhanced. Executives of the European Commission and the Greek Fire Department presented detailed data during technical information, emphasizing, inter alia, on three axes, prevention, readiness and interoperability. As the Head of the Communications Unit of the Directorate -General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (DG ECHO), Zacharias Yakoumis, the Subs there for 2025, is based on three pillars, the volatile media, the European firefighters’ pre -establishment program as well as the supply of expertise.

In particular, as highlighted, almost 650 firefighters (641) from 14 European countries will be strategically placed in key high -risk sites in France, Greece, Spain and Portugal to provide immediate support to local firefighters. Regarding the air means, as Mr Yakoumis noted, the European Civil Protection Mechanism (ECPP) will assist through the Resceu and the European Civil Protection Tank with 26 volatile media available to 10 countries. Specifically 22 firefighters and 4 helicopters will be parked in 10 Member States to intervene in case of need. These resources, which are coordinated and co -financed through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, will help to mitigate the risk and enable faster and more efficient crisis.

In particular, the distribution of flying through the following will be as follows:

  • France: Four medium -sized amphibious aircraft and a helicopter.
  • Greece: Four medium -sized amphibious aircraft.
  • Croatia: Two medium -sized amphibious aircraft.
  • Italy: Two medium -sized amphibious aircraft.
  • Spain: Two medium -sized amphibious aircraft.
  • Sweden: Four light aircraft.
  • Portugal: Two light aircraft.
  • Cyprus: Two light aircraft.
  • Czech Republic: Two helicopters.
  • Slovakia: a helicopter.

As Mr Yakoumis emphasized, “for these media, the Commission covers the costs of Stand by, including the full costs of transfer to a country as well as a refund as well as 75% of business expenses”.

In addition, he also referred to the new firefighting aircraft and helicopters that will be Resceu’s permanent fleet in the coming years.

As he said, the European Commission is investing significant financial resources in the supply of 12 new firefighters and 5 helicopters. “The first helicopters are expected to be delivered in 2026 while the first Canander aircraft is expected to arrive at the end of 2027 – early 2028. The first of them is expected to come to Greece and when we are talking. This Canader fleet will be delivered in their entirety in the coming years. “

Concerning the pre -establishment program, Mr. Yakoumis pointed out that they were “extremely proud of it as it grows” each year and added that there are 19 on top of the fire brigades, as well as a evaluation and consulting team, ready to mobilize the EU in close cooperation with the EU.

Concerning the third pillar and expertise, Mr Yakoumis said that at the EU Emergency Coordination Center, a special support team for forest fires (29 experts) who will monitor them will be set up from June 16 to September 19.

“Among the experts who make up it will be a Greek and a Cypriot colleague,” he noted, adding that the scientific support of Member States and third countries would be continuous and with satellite mapping through the Copernicus program.

Concerning the prevention and readiness, Mr. Yakoumis stressed that the European Commission has been taking new steps in recent years. “The European Union helps Member States not only in dealing with but also in the escalation of preventive measures through a series of projects. There are programs of the Civil Protection Mechanism. Greece has benefited significantly, I give an example the evaluation of the readiness to deal with forest fires. Greece was the first to rush with Italy and the German state of Brandenburg to be evaluated. This report has been released since last year and shows exactly the importance of Greece and the European Commission to enhance the readiness at national and European level and at the more general level, “he noted. He also referred to the Civil Protection Knowledge Network network, which, as Mr Yakoumis said, has also become a first choice for the Civil Protection Community in recent years either through seminars or through joint exercises. “Cooperation is not limited to the summer months it has to do all the time and it is where interoperability is built. The last major initiative presented by the European Commission in March is the strategy for the readiness union with the aim of preventing and reacting to emerging threats and crises that aspires to strengthen the Member States and the union’s ability to prevent and face emerging threats including natural threats. Over 30 actions are within the readiness strategy.

Our intention of course to be better prepared because better preparation means both better protection and security for everyone, “he concluded.

For his part, the Coordinator of the Fire Brigade Officers’ Association, Vice -Commander Vassilis Bikas, presented detailed information on the pre -establishment program of European firefighters who started piloting in Greece in 2022. As he pointed out this year, countries have increased this year. In particular, Greece, France, Portugal and Spain will be host countries as they will develop a total of 641 firefighters. In particular, Greece will receive 50% of European firefighters and in particular 323 firefighters from July 1 to September 15. The Bulgarian firefighters (40 people) will be the first to reach Thessaloniki while the program throws a curtain with missions from Romania and France (120 and 25 people respectively). An additional 50 firefighters from Austria, 44 from Moldova and 44 from the Czech Republic will develop in Patras and Attica. Also, as Mr. Bikas explained for the second consecutive year, Greece will send a respective Forestry Forestry Unit to France. “We are very happy because this time we will send our strengths to the island of Corsica. In addition, for three consecutive years, the French firefighters who have been developing in Greece come from this unit from the island of Corsica, “he said.

Regarding the development of the program, Mr Bikas pointed out that there is an increasing trend while stressing that Greece is in demand as a destination for European firefighters as he said “it is the open university of forest fires where the firefighter is both experienced and less experienced and more experienced. Very large forest fires. “

“Greece has a leading role in the mechanism as it has activated it from 2016 until today 13 times to its advantage, but on the other hand it has responded 54 times and the balance is clearly tilting the scales in favor of our offer,” he noted, concluding that the message is nothing but “that it”

Increasing the European Civil Protection Mechanism

During the briefing emphasis was placed on the particular increase in the activations of the Civil Protection Mechanism as Mr Yakoumis pointed out by 2019 they had about 20 activations a year. “This average has reached 100 activations a year and is associated with multiple crises of different types. Since 2005, Greece has activated the number 30 times, most of the time for fires, “he said. In addition, it was particularly referred to the devastating fire of 2023 in Evros, which he said is the largest recorded in Europe in recent years with nearly 1,000,000 burnt areas, while pointing out that one of the largest mobilizations of the Civil Protection Mechanism or Vehicle and Vehicles.