EU firefighting support set to arrive in Greece for summer season
A total of 323 firefighters from six European countries will join Greek forces this summer as part of the EU’s Union Civil Protection Mechanism, in what is the largest single deployment in this year’s European firefighting support effort.
Firefighters from Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Moldova, and Romania will be gradually deployed between July 1 and September 15, stationed in Athens, Thessaloniki, and Patra.
Their mission is twofold: to support Greek firefighters in battling wildfires and to train alongside them in real field conditions, gaining practical experience to take back to their home countries.
This year marks the fourth consecutive summer the program has been implemented. As part of its preparations, the Hellenic Fire Brigade hosted a joint seminar on May 20 for the liaison officers of the participating missions and their administrative counterparts. A follow-up training session for incoming team leaders is scheduled for late June.
Greece is participating in the program with a dual role for a second consecutive season. In addition to hosting European firefighting teams on its soil, Greece will also send a 20-member unit from the Special Forest Operations Unit (EMODE) to Corsica, where they will work alongside French firefighters from September 1 to 15, 2025.
Besides Greece, the broader EU support program will also see a total of 641 firefighters from 14 European countries deployed across France, Portugal, and Spain this summer, in a coordinated effort to strengthen southern Europe’s response capacity amid increasingly severe wildfire seasons.
Kathimerini
