EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib visited the fire-hit Gironde region in south-west France on Tuesday as the European Union coordinated aircraft and firefighting crews to support France and Spain.
Lahbib, the Commissioner for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality, met French authorities and frontline responders during the visit and thanked them for their efforts, the European Commission said.
France requested assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, triggering support coordinated by the EU.
Eight firefighting planes have been deployed from Croatia, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey and Luxembourg, along with four helicopters from Czechia, Germany and Slovakia.
Spain has also requested help as it tackles what the Commission described as the largest wildfires in its history.
The EU is coordinating six planes from Greece, Italy and Turkey, one helicopter from Serbia, and 174 personnel with 60 vehicles from Portugal and Serbia.
How the EU’s emergency help works
When a country asks for help via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, the request is shared with 37 participating countries, and they can offer aircraft, helicopters, teams, equipment or experts, with the Commission coordinating and co-financing the deployment.
If national offers are not sufficient, the EU can draw on rescEU — its strategic reserve — which includes a fleet of 22 planes and five helicopters.
Emergency response is coordinated around the clock by the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre.
Ahead of the wildfire season, the EU pre-positioned 331 firefighters from Romania, Slovakia, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Poland in areas of France and Spain considered at high risk.
Rapid emergency maps are also produced through Copernicus — the EU’s satellite programme — to support firefighting operations.
