AKEL calls for the creation of a European airborne firefighting base in Cyprus
AKEL MEP Giorgos Georgiou press release, 13th July 2021
AKEL Member of the European Parliament G. Georgiou, raised before the European Commission, with the urgency procedure, the adverse effects of the fires that broke out in Cyprus recently, calling for the immediate creation of a European airborne firefighting base. More specifically, AKEL MEP G.Georgiou stressed that the recent fires had as a tragic result the burning a large area of forest land, endangering homes and leading to the loss of 4 of our fellow citizens, demonstrating the severe understaffing of the Forestry Department and the lack of appropriate equipment. He stressed that the urgent need for the creation of a European Aerial Firefighting Base in Cyprus, within the framework of rescEU, for the benefit of both the Republic of Cyprus and the countries of the region, was reaffirmed.
Unfortunately, in the map prepared by the EU, presenting its initial plan with the countries where air firefighting bases will be established, Cyprus is not only not included, but is also presented outside the areas to be covered by the base, which will be established in the eastern Mediterranean. Giorgos Georgiou therefore called on the European Commission to provide an answer as to why Cyprus is the only member state out of the seven states in the Mediterranean zone that has not been selected for the establishment of a European Airborne Firefighting Base, despite the fact that it is included in the group of countries prone to fires.
