Country: World Source: European Commission Please refer to the attached file. Why is the Commission taking action now? Climate change is exacerbating wildfire risks across Europe, with longer, hotter, and drier summers increasing the frequency and intensity of fires. In 2025, wildfires ravaged more than one million hectares in the European Union for the first time since records began, as reported by the Copernicus European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). The recorded burnt area in four of the last five years has been above average, and the size and intensity of wildfires are increasing. Also, the frequency of ‘megafires’ is on the rise, posing a significant challenge to wildfire management efforts. Integrated wildfire risk management is the response to this urgency to act. It is about bringing all policy areas and actors together in a joint approach to reduce wildfire risk – for example, landscape and forest management, risk communication, civil protection and research and innovation. It is about the EU, its Member States and regions working together to protect Europeans as well as the environment. The measures proposed today build on the Preparedness Union Strategy, existing tools like the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), including rescEU, and existing policies, such as the Common Agricultural Policy. They will be continued or adapted to our future Multiannual Financial Framework. How does this fit with the Preparedness Union Strategy? Today’s measures build on the Preparedness Union Strategy, which aims to make the EU better prepared and more ready to anticipate, prevent and face current challenges. It puts forward a more proactive approach to disaster management. Applying the principles in the Strategy, this approach brings together all departments in a whole-of-government approach to jointly manage a specific problem, hand in hand with all stakeholders concerned. What are the key areas of the communication? With today’s Communication on integrated wildfire risk management, the Commission outlines: How to implement ecosystem-based prevention and build fire-resilient landscapes; How preparedness can be improved through better risk assessment, foresight and knowledge; How wildfire risk awareness among Europeans and population preparedness can be strengthened; How further support for early warning and response can be organised; and How post-fire recovery and nature restoration are supported by the Commission. It also sets out national and EU actions that can help strengthen overall wildfire risk management and presents how the EU’s international engagement will foster cooperation and dialogue on wildfire risk management. How will the EU improve wildfire risk assessments? The new communication will strengthen wildfire risk assessment through three elements: Further developing the EFFIS by making near real-time data, from both partner international space agencies and European-owned satellites, easily accessible to Member States and citizens; Developing standardised risk modelling to help Member States prioritise prevention measures; Issuing guidelines for integrating wildfire risk into national reporting, and thus supporting a consistent EU-wide approach. How much will it cost Member States? Today’s communication does not impose any costs on Member States. On the contrary, it seeks to promote more efficiency in wildfires management. But a long-term issue such as wildfires will not go away in the next years and will even spread to more of our Member States. Sustained, long-term investments to better prevent, prepare, respond to and recover from fire are necessary. But, by strengthening funding for prevention and preparedness, the costs of suppression operations and the damages from wildfires can be drastically reduced. Investing in prevention is therefore an investment into a resilient future. What role will education and public awareness play? People and local communities play a major role in wildfire risk prevention and management. The share of wildfire ignitions caused by human activity in the EU by far exceeds those from natural causes and could be as high as 96%. Complementing the Preparedness Union Strategy, the Commission today proposes to: Promote and disseminate good practices in wildfire risk awareness and community involvement, for example through the UCPM Knowledge Network; Develop a toolkit for supporting resilience building in wildland-urban interface areas; Promote volunteering and exchange opportunities in the field of preparedness; Engage with citizens through the Online debate on Preparedness – Citizens’ Engagement Platform and the dedicated European Citizens Panel which will deliberate and address recommendations on wildfire risk awareness and preparedness. How will the rescEU firefighting fleet be expanded? The Commission is expanding the EU’s joint firefighting fleet, known as rescEU, by procuring 12 firefighting airplanes and five helicopters. The planes will be hosted by six EU countries: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, and Greece. The 5 helicopters will be hosted by Czechia, Slovakia, and Romania. The first helicopters will be operational in 2026 and the first airplanes by 2028. The first helicopter has already been delivered to Romania. What will the Cyprus firefighting hub do? The new European firefighting hub based in Cyprus will have a dual role: operational, to respond to wildfire emergencies; and capacity building. The hub would be designed not only to reinforce the protection of people and ecosystems from wildfires, but also to strengthen resilience and adaptation as well as cooperation with neighbouring partner countries. It is expected to host a centre of excellence, focusing on capacity building, training, exercises, and seasonal readiness, relying on the technical expertise and resources of the EU and Southern Neighbourhood countries. For more information Communication on integrated wildfire risk management Press release Factsheet – Integrated wildfire risk management
World: Questions and answers on integrated wildfire risk management
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