To better fight this summer's forest fires, the European Union is financing the Swedish government's purchase of two fire-fighting aircraft that will add to the equipment reserve of the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism RescEU, the European Commission announced on Friday 5 June.
As a result, the EU fleet available to assist Member States who would have insufficient national capacity to deal with such fires will total 13 aircraft this year. Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden each provide two aircraft, and France just one. Sweden also provides 6 helicopters.
"Forest fires can strike at any time and climate change has widened their reach throughout Europe. We need to be ready this summer", commented Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič, thanking Sweden.
This fire-fighting equipment may be used inside or outside the EU for countries activating the Civil Protection Mechanism, depending on the needs and equipment available.
Attention has recently been focused on the medical or personal protection equipment in the RescEU reserve to combat coronavirus - a RescEU innovation dating back to last March - but forest fires are another scourge that was particularly devastating in the EU last year. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)