Twenty-four airplanes and four helicopters in ten EU member-states as well as more than 400 firefighters are pre-positioned in Greece, France, and Portugal, so that they can help with fires in every part of Europe, the representative of the Commission, Balas Uzvari, stated in response to this matter.

He noted that a lot of preparation has been done for the fire season adding that 24 planes and 4 helicopters are positioned across the EU and in ten different Member-States to be able to act very quickly and cover all points geographically, if needed.

As for the already deployed firefighters, it’s something new, it started last year but was expanded this year. They have more than 400 firefighters pre-positioned in three countries: France, Portugal, and Greece, he noted.

Regarding the fires in Greece, he said that the civil protection mechanism was activated two days ago.

Specifically, two Canadairs were deployed from France and two more from Italy. These planes are already in Greece and specifically in the Attica region assisting with efforts in the field alongside local first responders.

Three teams were also deployed, from Poland, Slovakia, and Romania, a total of 150 firefighters, Balas Uzvari pointed out, adding that Greece has pre-positioned firefighters from Romania, Bulgaria, and Malta, while the Copernicus system has also been activated.

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