Greece has dispatched four aircraft to battle forest fires in the Albanian municipality of Dropull, following a request for aid from Tirana through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
“Forest fires know no boundaries,” EU Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic said, revealing that the EU has mobilised firefighting planes from Greece to support local first responders in Albania. He added that the European Union is ready to give further help to Albania if required.
Persistent fires have been raging in southern Albania, near the Greek border, since the start of the week. According to the EU Commission, while the situation seemed to have improved slightly on Tuesday night, the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) continues to closely monitor developments in case more assistance is needed.
Ahead of the summer period, the Commission has established an aviation fleet and pre-positioned firefighters across Europe. A total of 556 firefighters from 12 countries have been deployed to France, Greece, Portugal and Spain, ready to assist local firefighting teams. The EU has also assembled a firefighting aircraft fleet, including 28 airplanes and four helicopters stationed in ten member states.
