The European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness, and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, held a bilateral meeting with the Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Yiannis Kefalogiannis, on the occasion of her visit to our country in the context of strengthening Greece-EU cooperation in the areas of prevention, preparedness, and emergency response.
Lahbib was given a tour of the Unified Coordination Center for Operations and Crisis Management and visited the base of the national and rescEU Canadair fleet in Elefsina, while also inspecting the facilities of the Special Disaster Response Unit (EMAK).
The European Commissioner emphasised that "Greece is a beacon of European solidarity in civil protection." She also referred to the 100 new vehicles that will be delivered to the Fire Service tomorrow and added that thanks to countries like Greece, the European Civil Protection Mechanism "has become a strong shield for our citizens."
On his part, the Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Yiannis Kefalogiannis, underlined that during his discussion with the Commissioner, the shared commitment of Greece and the European Commission to work towards shaping a coherent, jointly accepted European framework for civil protection and preparedness was reaffirmed.  This framework, the minister noted, should not be limited to fragmented interventions or merely reacting to emergencies, but should be based on three fundamental pillars. The first, he stated, involves a preventive strategy; the second, an evidence-based analysis of threats and vulnerabilities using scientific tools and the promotion of cross-sector collaboration; and the third, the active participation of all institutional, social, and political entities.
He also stressed that Greece strongly supports the need to develop a unified, coherent European civil protection policy, with operational and institutional tools that go beyond national capabilities. He added that the Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism and rescEU currently constitute key pillars of European solidarity and our operational readiness.
Their further reinforcement will significantly contribute to the creation of a truly effective common European shield against the challenges of our time, Kefalogiannis said.
In turn, Lahbib referred to the increasing risk of wildfires, a threat that, as she noted, Greece "takes very seriously. Greece is a beacon of European solidarity in civil protection. Thanks to countries like Greece, the European Civil Protection Mechanism has become a strong shield for our citizens. Through this Mechanism, Greece has provided assistance far more often than it has requested it. In just the past two weeks, Greece has responded to three requests for help-once for Albania and twice for North Macedonia. This solidarity works both ways. The EU also stands by Greece in times of need".
She also noted that since 2017, Greece has requested assistance to fight wildfires nine times, including for "the largest wildfire ever recorded in Europe, in Alexandroupoli, in August 2023." She highlighted that this summer as well, the EU is once again ready to support Greece.
Regarding the EU’s planning for this year’s wildfire season, the European Commissioner noted that 22 firefighting airplanes and four helicopters-hosted by 10 EU countries-are on standby through the Civil Protection Mechanism. She added that this includes four aircraft from Greece.
She also stated that the Emergency Response Coordination Centre in Brussels is on 24/7 alert, providing real-time support and working closely with Greece’s national coordination centre.