PRESS RELEASE FROM THE SNSPP-PATS. Climate change, storms and hurricanes, landslides, nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical (NRBC) risks, deadly forest fires… Are these acts of fate or can they be anticipated? An exception or an inevitability? A recurring phenomenon that is being ignored? In any case, one cannot help but note that their scale is increasing, as is their frequency.
In the view of the SNSPP-PATS, it is essential to move away from the existing European mechanism – the limitations of which are now well known – towards a European civil protection force that can be mobilised without delay to respond very quickly and decisively wherever it is needed. Time (deployment times), the number of rescue workers (depending on the skills required) and the speed of response from the very outset of a disaster or emergency are the key to greater success in rescue and emergency operations. We all know this. The facts are brutally harsh, but they are undeniable. Let us not be in denial; we must realise that this does not only happen to other people. This issue can affect all Member States and partner countries. As we can see today, the countries around the Mediterranean are no longer the only ones affected, particularly when it comes to forest fires. It is clear that Sweden has once again been affected, having experienced a forest fire a few years ago (in 2014 or 2015) that ravaged nearly 10,000 hectares. Climate change is being felt everywhere.
‘Rescue EU’
On 17 May, the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment adopted a text aimed at improving the European Union’s civil protection mechanism.
The aim is indeed to help Member States respond more quickly and effectively to natural and man-made disasters. The draft legislation would establish a pool of emergency response resources known as ‘Rescue EU’, comprising forest fire-fighting aircraft, high-capacity pumps, field hospitals and emergency medical teams, which could be deployed for all types of emergency, according to an article by Fanny Rousset for ‘Actu-environnement’.
There does indeed seem to be a growing awareness of the issue, but the most important thing now is to take action. European solidarity must be effective and genuine.
To send, without causing any difficulty for the states that claim
Indeed, it cannot be ignored that the key to success in fighting forest fires is to respond very quickly and forcefully to emerging fires if we are to maximise our chances of preventing that emerging fire from rapidly turning into a disaster, particularly when strong winds are fanning the flames.
In addition, prevention must be carried out throughout the year; it is also a key factor in successfully reducing known risks.
For more than thirty years, the SNSPP-PATS has been calling on our various political decision-makers to implement this essential pooling of resources and to secure support from and in collaboration with the European Union (EU) so that, amongst other things, a genuine European fleet of water-bombing aircraft can be mobilised without delay as soon as a country requests it, without placing a strain on those countries that are deploying their own resources when they themselves may be under threat.