EU funds to deal with forest fires have been poorly targeted and used inefficiently, a spending watchdog has concluded.
Over the past 20 years, the number of forest fires in Europe has increased significantly, fuelled largely by climate change. Each year, an area twice the size of Luxembourg goes up in smoke, destroying homes, killing people and devastating wildlife.
From 2021 to 2024, there were nearly 1,900 fires annually across the continent.
Greece, Spain, Portugal and France are the four European countries which tend to suffer the most when it comes to forest fires. However, hotter and drier conditions mean forest fires are expected to become more frequent in Belgium in the coming years.
Poor monitoring of spending and outdated maps
In a report released earlier this week, EU spending watchdog the European Court of Auditors praised countries for introducing measures to prevent wildfires, for example by creating firebreaks and clearing vegetation.
In Portugal, the percentage of funding spent on prevention rose from 20% to 61% between 2017 and 2022. Similarly, in Spain’s north-western Galicia region, prevention has made up the lion’s share of the forest-fire budget since 2018.
While noting these encouraging signs, the auditors highlighted a number of areas for concern. In particular, they said there was insufficient monitoring of where EU money was being spent, and the map data being used by countries was outdated.
In Portugal, one area selected as a priority for funds contained a partially flooded area where a dam had recently been built. In Greece, authorities were using a 45-year-old map to assess the risk of forest fires. In Spain, meanwhile, the budget for tackling forest fires was shared equally between all provinces, regardless of risks and needs.
Nikolaos Milionis, the ECA member in charge of the audit, said: “Strengthening preventive measures against forest fires is certainly a move in the right direction. But to prevent EU support from being just a flash in the pan, EU money must be spent in a way that ensures best results and a sustainable impact.”
