EU Creates Joint Firefighting Team Amid Rising Climate-Fueled Forest Fires
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- The EU is forming a 300-member rapid-response wildfire firefighting unit composed of personnel from all 27 member states.
- Climate-driven heat, drought and wind have intensified Mediterranean wildfires, causing deaths, mass evacuations and massive burned areas.
- EU officials say the bloc needs its own firefighting capability, with Cyprus floated as a strategic base for Europe and the Middle East.
The European Union has announced the formation of a cross-border wildfire firefighting unit made up of 300 personnel, as forest fires across the region become more frequent and more intense due to climate change.
EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said the “rapid-response force” will consist of firefighters drawn from all 27 member states, and can be deployed quickly when needed.
Hoekstra said the decision to create the unit was taken last year. He acknowledged that the EU firefighters will require more personnel and equipment, but said the move represents “fast progress compared to five years ago.”
“This is clearly a sign of solidarity, and we want to tackle this together,” Hoekstra said at a press conference after a meeting of EU environment and climate ministers in Cyprus on Saturday (Feb. 7, 2026).
Hoekstra has not disclosed where the EU firefighting unit’s central headquarters will be located. He also did not say whether the unit will be operational during this year’s summer fire season.
In September last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would establish a regional firefighting force in Cyprus. The choice of location was intended to enable European firefighters to also assist in combating wildfires in the Middle East.
As reported by The Associated Press, in her annual address to the European Parliament, von der Leyen said the EU needs “its own tools” to respond to increasingly intense and frequent wildfires driven by climate change, which is making summers “hotter, harsher and more dangerous.”
Research released in August last year found that climate change has worsened wildfires during summer in southern Europe. The study predicted that wildfire activity will continue to rise.
In June and July last year, the Mediterranean region was hit by hundreds of wildfires triggered by temperatures above 40∘C, extremely dry conditions and strong winds.
Those fires killed 20 people, forced 80,000 to evacuate, and burned more than 1 million hectares of land. Research by the World Weather Attribution group found that the 2025 wildfires were 22% more intense than in previous years.
Last year was also recorded as the worst year for wildfires in Europe. Research found that rainfall ahead of the wildfire season fell by about 14% compared with the pre-industrial period, when the world began relying on fossil fuels.
Climate change has also lengthened dry spells in Europe, as bursts of warm winds leave vegetation highly flammable.
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