Yesterday Portugal activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to help stop the spread of forest fires in several parts of the country.
In an immediate response to the request for assistance, the EU mobilised via the mechanism a firefighting plane which is managed by Italy as part of the EU “buffer capacity” developed to support national capacities where required. The plane will arrive in Portugal today in the afternoon and is set to operate in the north of the country. This comes in addition to two planes deployed by Spain.
Furthermore, a liaison officer from the Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre has also been deployed to Portugal today. We are also supporting the Portuguese authorities with satellite maps over the hotspots in the island of Madeira through the EU Copernicus Emergency Management Service. In view of the critical situation, the European Commission has increased EU co-financing for transport of assistance within the framework of the EU Civil Mechanism from 55 to a maximum rate of 85%. “The EU reacted immediately to Portugal’s request for assistance yesterday and already the plane mobilised by the EU Civil Protection Mechanism is on its way.
We remain in continuous contact with the national authorities and the civil protection authorities of the countries participating in the Mechanism to do all we can to support Portugal at this time of need.Our thoughts are with all those affected and with the first responders who are doing their best to battle the fires” said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides.
