Italy is not currently battling major fires and has not requested assistance from the EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC). However, starting around August 6, forecasts have indicated "extreme risk, particularly in Sardinia," and "it is during that period that we believe additional firefighting action with additional assistance from our side may be necessary."

This was reported by ERCC Unit Head Maria Zuber in a press briefing. "Italy has its own capabilities, but obviously we also have many more capabilities to send to Italy if needed," she added.

The 37 member states, through their civil protection authorities, can call at any time, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, "and we immediately contact all 37 of our contact points," he explains. "If we don't have a response after two hours, we'll begin deploying the rescEU fleet. As soon as the request arrives, we immediately share it with everyone in the system so they're aware of it. Then we wait for member states to start offering their aircraft, and then when we see that there aren't enough, we begin deploying rescEU."

In the pyramid structure, first come the Member States' capacities, then the teams of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, "for which we have already pre-emptively allocated some capacities," and finally the RescEu safety net, established because "over the years we have noted that the resources of the European Civil Protection Mechanism are insufficient."

The European Union "has invested in the necessary capabilities to create this layer of protection and to be able to integrate it, and, when that is not sufficient, to send rescue vehicles," Zuber assures.

(Unioneonline)

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