Press Release: Co-ordinated EU operation assists Greece and Albania in fighting forest fires

Greece has activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, requesting urgent aerial assistance for fight forest fires raging in Alexandroupolis (North-East of the country). This was followed by a request for assistance from Albania. Within a few hours, the European Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) was able to deliver a coordinated EU operation with aerial assets provided by Spain, France and Italy.

• Primary Source

European Commission: Memo/11/990: Fighting forest fires in Europe – how it works http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/567&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

EuropeanVoice: 26.08.11, Greece receives EU help to fight fires http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2011/august/greek-receives-eu-help-to-fight-fires/71886.aspx

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