Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

As many countries battle rapidly spreading wildfires, the European Union is stepping in to step up firefighting efforts and provide much-needed support to affected communities by deploying more than 490 firefighters and nine firefighting aircraft to Greece and Tunisia since 18 July. In a statement issued by the European Commission in Brussels on Wednesday morning, it also said, "The two Mediterranean countries activated the EU's civil protection mechanism and the European bloc responded quickly. Ten countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Italy, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Serbia) contributed to the response of the EU's civil protection mechanism." European forest fires in Greece.
  In total, more than 490 firefighters and seven aircraft have been deployed to different regions of the country. An EU liaison officer supports the coordination of operations in Greece and the EU Copernicus satellite mapping provides damage assessment in several areas in the Attica and Rhodes region.
In addition, two Canadians from the Spain-hosted Rescue Unit Reserve are deployed to northwest Tunisia.
Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, said: “The forest fires ravaging the Mediterranean region demand an immediate and united response. The European Union, through its Civil Protection Mechanism, stands in solidarity and stands ready to support the affected countries. Together, we are deploying available resources to fight the fires and protect our citizens.” I also want to express my heartfelt sympathy and support to the families and colleagues of two Greek firefighters who lost their lives yesterday when their firefighting plane crashed on the Greek island of Evia. This is the worst reminder of how first responders put their lives at risk to save others and our environment."
Wildfires, fueled by dry weather conditions and high temperatures, pose a serious threat to lives, livelihoods and ecosystems across the Mediterranean. In response, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism is once again demonstrating that it is a key tool for solidarity and cooperation between EU Member States and beyond, during emergencies.
This comes after the Civil Protection in Algeria announced the extinguishment of all forest fires that broke out during the past days, and indicated that monitoring operations are still continuing to prevent the outbreak of fires again.

Forest fires in Algeria, during the past few days, claimed the lives of at least 34 people, including 10 soldiers, and caused the evacuation of about 1,500 people from their homes.

The northern and southern regions of the Mediterranean witnessed a severe wave of high temperatures, which caused forest fires in Greece, Algeria and Tunisia.