EU proposes regional hub on Cyprus to better tackle wildfires, von der Leyen says

The European Commission will propose setting up a regional firefighting hub based in Cyprus that could also assist Middle East countries in battling major wildfires, the head of the bloc's executive arm said on Wednesday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in her annual address to the European Parliament that it was necessary to "give ourselves the tools" to combat wildfires made worse by climate change as summers become "hotter, harsher and more dangerous."

"This summer, we all saw the pictures of Europe's forests and villages on fire," Von der Leyen said. "More than a million hectares were burned. The scale of the damage is enormous. And we know it is not a one-off."

The announcement comes as reports suggest that climate change worsened wildfires in southern Europe this summer, with the likelihood of similar outbreaks rising sharply.

Von der Leyen did not provide specifics on how the Cyprus-based hub will operate or what resources it will have.

Cypriot officials proposed setting up such a hub on the Mediterranean island as early as 2022, with additional firefighting aircraft that could quickly respond to wildfires, particularly in Middle East countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Israel.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides hailed the announcement on social media as "hugely important" for the region.

His government spokesperson Constantinos Letymbiotis said the creation of such a hub would bolster the EU’s operational capabilities along its southern axis and also benefit the bloc’s neighbours in the Middle East.

In July, Cyprus suffered one of its worst wildfires in recent memory which killed two elderly people trying to flee the fast-moving flames in their car.

Hundreds of homes were destroyed and more than 100 square kilometres of land in the southern foothills of the Troodos mountain range were scorched.

A few weeks before the wildfire’s outbreak, Cyprus' Environment Minister Maria Panayiotou said the country was in the process of bolstering its fleet of firefighting aircraft.

She said tenders were out for three fixed-wing aircraft with a water-carrying capacity of 3,000 litres, each in line with EU guidelines, as part of a five-year plan for the island nation to build a state-owned fleet of 10 such planes.

As in previous years, Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Lebanon dispatched helicopters and other aircraft to help Cypriot authorities put out July's wildfire.

Cyprus, the closest EU member country to the Middle East, often reciprocates when it receives calls for help.