BELGRADE – Serbia has not activated the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism in order to receive assistance in extinguishing the wildfires, the European Commission confirmed for N1 Serbia, after the Russian plane “Ilyushin” arrived to the country on 20 August. The firefighting aircraft is engaged in the large-scale operations in Deliblato Sands, a protected special nature reserve where severe wildfires have been raging for weeks.
Responding to N1’s questions, the European Commission stated that Serbia has not activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism so far.
“If Serbia activates the Mechanism in the coming hours or days in response to the wildfires, we will immediately coordinate with European partners in order to mobilize assistance in accordance with the real needs and situation on the ground”, said a spokesman of the European Commission.
N1 asked the Commission whether Serbia had formally requested assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism regarding Deliblato Sands wildfires, including the deployment of fire-fighting aircraft, and whether European aircraft and other capacities would have been available had such a request been made.
At the same time, the EC confirmed that Serbia had requested another type of assistance from the EU.
“The European Commission has already provided satellite images of the Copernicus programme in support of local firefighters, following Serbia’s request”, the EC states for N1.
Asked by N1 how does the European Commission view the fact that a Russian plane was involved in the firefighting, it linked the answer to Serbia’s wider attitude towards Russia. “When it comes to the assistance received from Russia, we reiterate that the EU wants to count on Serbia as a reliable partner. As we have repeatedly said, relations with Russia and the Putin regime cannot be business as usual, while Russia is waging an unprovoked and unjustified aggression war on European soil in Ukraine”, the EC remarked.
N1 notes that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia had previously stated that the Russian plane “Ilyushin”, of the Ministry of Civil Protection, Emergency Situations and Disaster Relief of the Russian Federation, was engaged in extinguishing the wildfires in Deliblato Sands. It added that many European countries are facing wildfires due to the extremely hot and dry period, “and that there are no available fire-fighting aircraft of that capacity (Ilyushin) within the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
The European Commission’s response, however, demonstrates that Serbia has not activated this mechanism so far.
According to the latest information, in the wildfires that has been burning for weeks in Deliblato Sands, a total of 3,500 hectares of forest have been burned. Fortunately, no one has been injured so far.
