The EU has moved to help with devastating wildfires in both Belgium and Spain.
On Monday, it announced it has deployed assistance to both nations following their activation of the Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism as wildfires continue to affect several parts of Europe.
Two planes from the EU’s firefighting fleet, rescEU were dispatched from Sweden to Belgium, alongside two helicopters from the Netherlands, two from Norway and two from Germany, supporting local firefighters battling the blaze in the Hautes Fagnes.
More than 3,000 hectares have burnt to date. It is said to be the worst fire of its kind in Belgium for decades.
In Spain, 104 ground firefighters with 36 vehicles from France have come to the aid of Spanish firefighters in the Aragón region, where close to 16,000 hectares have already burnt.
The EU is also supporting emergency services with satellite mapping.
The Copernicus emergency management service is active for wildfires in Belgium, Spain, Greece, Germany, Montenegro, Albania, Greece and France and Italy.
A commission spokesman said this is providing rapid maps to help authorities assess affected areas and organise the response.
Comment came from the EU commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib, who is from Belgium.
She said: “No country should face wildfires alone. Through our Civil Protection Mechanism, Europe is moving aircraft, helicopters and firefighters quickly to where they are needed most.
“This weekend in Belgium and Spain, European solidarity was on the ground again.”
The 2026 wildfire season is already exceptionally severe. By the end of July, the area burned was already2.5 times the usual level in Europe.
Through the UCPM, countries can rapidly draw on a much wider pool of firefighters, aircraft and other emergency capacities when national resources come under pressure.
The European Commission’s emergency response centre is at the centre of this system: it receives requests for assistance, coordinates offers from Member States and participating states, and supports the deployment of the capacities offered.
The Commission also co-finances the deployments.
