European Commission, Press release, Brussels, 26 August 2014:
Greece is receiving support through
the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism to fight the forest
fires raging in the central part of the country. France has responded to
Greece's request for assistance in a matter of hours – its two
fire-fighting planes are already operating in the affected areas.
"Forest fires are a risk we face
every summer and this year is no exception; we will continue to support
the efforts of Greece to prevent the fire from spreading towards
populated areas.
The Commission is grateful to France for its prompt
gesture of solidarity; I hope that other Member States will also be
able to offer assistance," said Kristalina Georgieva, the European Union
Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis
Response.
The European Commission's
Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) is in contact with the
civil protection authorities of the countries participating in the
Mechanism.
The ERCC is actively monitoring
the forest fire risks across Europe. It uses national monitoring
services and tools such as EFFIS (the European Forest Fire Information
System) and satellite imagery to provide an overview of the situation in
Europe. Every summer, its experts hold a weekly videoconference with
national authorities from countries at greatest risk of forest fires.
Background
The fire that broke out on 24
August in a forest region near Kalabaka, central Greece, has burnt
around 400 hectares of land and is still active. Greece has also
activated the satellite imagery service of the European Commission. Тhe
Copernicus mapping system provides all actors involved in the management
of natural and man-made disasters and humanitarian crises with timely
and accurate satellite images of the affected areas. It can be activated
only by authorised users, e.g. national civil protection authorities,
through the ERCC.
The European Civil Protection
Mechanism facilitates cooperation in disaster response among 31 European
states (EU-28 plus Norway, Iceland, and the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia). The participating countries pool the resources that can be
made available to disaster-stricken countries all over the world. When
activated, the Mechanism coordinates the provision of assistance inside
and outside the European Union. The European Commission manages the
Mechanism through the ERCC.
The European Civil Protection
Mechanism was activated 17 times over the last three summers to respond
to forest fires inside and outside Europe. In 2012, for example, Greece
has requested assistance at combatting forest fires for three times.
Furthermore, in June 2014 a
major EU civil protection exercise, EU PROMETHEUS 2014, took place in
Greece, testing cooperation and response capacities of Member States
through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Among other things, the
participating teams from a number of EU Member States were tested at
combatting a huge wildfire near populated areas.
For more information.....................http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-949_en.htm?locale=en
26/7/14
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