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The European Union is negotiating with manufacturers to buy firefighting aircraft to fight severe forest fires like those currently raging in southern Europe.

This was announced to Reuters by the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarchic.

He pointed out that currently the EU's emergency resources include 12 firefighting aircraft and one helicopter at the disposal of EU countries.

However, as emergency requests are expected to increase due to climate change, the EU plans to invest funds in the purchase of crisis response aircraft.

These planes will technically be purchased by the member countries, but they will be 100% financed by the European Union, Lenarcic explained.

He said plans were to resume production of amphibious aircraft that collect water for firefighting.

Amid an intense heatwave that has caused hundreds of deaths, thousands of firefighters in southern Europe yesterday battled multiple forest fires in a number of countries including Portugal, Spain and France.

Due to climate change, the conditions favoring the outbreak of fires - heat waves and drought - are increasing.

This means that fires can spread faster and burn longer once they are ignited.

For this reason, more and more countries are asking for urgent help to deal with the fiery element.

The EU has already received five aid requests this year.

With the Mediterranean region not yet even halfway through the typical June-September fire season, Lenarcic warned Europe was facing a tough summer.

In comparison, the EU received nine aid requests last year.

Forest fires continue to rage in Spain

2021 was the second worst forest fire season in EU history.

Over half a million hectares were burnt to ashes.

In 2017, fires burned over a million hectares, making it the worst year on record.

So far this year, more than 70,000 hectares have already been destroyed in Spain alone - a record for the past decade, according to Spanish government figures.

The EU civil protection budget, which helps countries invest in preventing and responding to crises, was around €900 million in 2021.

However, Lenarcic indicated that it would need to be further increased in the near future, given the increase in calls for help in climate-related emergencies, among other crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Forest fires

fire fighting aircraft