EU firefighting pilot project lauded for positive role
The European Commissioner for crisis management has emphasized the importance of a pilot program for prepositioning firefighters and equipment implemented in Greece last summer.
Speaking to European news agencies, Janez Lenarcic stressed Greece’s importance as an assistance hub in the East Mediterranean and the Balkans. He said that the idea of prepositioning was originally discussed following Greece’s devastating fires in the summer of 2021. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis proposed the idea and Lenarcic collaborated with Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides to launch the project. Six countries participated – Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Romania and Norway.
As a result of the positive feedback from the project, Lenarcic announced plans to increase prepositioning. “We intend to have this year, this fire season, more than 400 firefighters pre-deployed in Portugal, France and Greece,” he said.
