As was made public on Monday afternoon, several EU member states will send emergency aid to Greece to battle forest fires that have been ravaging the northeastern suburbs of Athens since yesterday.
Greece’s Civil Protection Authority issued a statement announcing that France, Italy, and Czechia will send assistance to the country in the coming hours. Spain and Turkey are finalizing their responses.
“The General Secretariat of Civil Protection initiated the activation of the European Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM),” Greece’s Civil Protection Authority noted.
Furthermore, according to the statement, the Greek authorities also sent a request for the EU to provide “air and ground assistance to deal with the forest fires affecting Attica amid conditions of extreme fire risk, as of yesterday afternoon.”
So far, four EU member states and Turkey have responded to the request.
France will send a Super Puma-type helicopter equipped with a special bucket that is being used to battle large fires. According to Greek authorities, this helicopter is expected to arrive in Greece tonight.
Italy has informed the EU mechanism that they will send two wildfire-battling Canadair aircraft, expected to arrive tomorrow morning.
Czechia said it will send a total of 75 firefighters along with 25 vehicles, nine of which are water carriers. These are expected to arrive tomorrow, as well.
Spain and Turkey have also expressed their intention to assist, with the details of their contributions not yet having been finalized.
What is the EU Civil Protection Mechanism?
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism is a program specially designed by the European Union to assist member states and a total of 10 non-EU states that contribute to the project in times of need. Specifically, its focus is providing aid in times of natural disasters.
This exceptionally useful scheme has been in operation for approximately 23 years now.
“The Mechanism aims to strengthen cooperation between the EU countries and 10 participating states on civil protection to improve prevention, preparedness, and response to disasters,” the relevant website notes.
“When an emergency hits, any country can request assistance via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The Commission plays a key role in coordinating the disaster response worldwide, contributing to at least 75 per cent of the transport and/or operational costs of deployments,” European authorities note on their website.
Greece battles forest fires as EU sends aid
Thousands of people have been evacuated so far in many of the northeastern suburbs of the Attica metropolitan area in Greece.
The forest fire that started at Varnavas, northeast of Athens on Sunday afternoon, has swiftly spread southwards, covering at least 12 miles (20 kilometers) over a few hours.
Many homes have burned down so far, but it is too early for an assessment of the proportions of damage.
Related: Athens Wildfires: Inferno Destroys Homes, Leads to Massive Evacuation
