At issue is an agreement that will be formalized today by the Executive for the purchase of two heavy fire-fighting bomber aircraft that will be based in Portugal and will be part of the European Union (EU) Civil Protection strategic reserve, in a total of 12 that Brussels finances with a total budget of 600 million euros (for Portugal, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, and Croatia).

“It all goes back to Portugal, in 2017 when very large fires occurred in which around 100 people died and when it was realised that we do not have enough capabilities in Europe”, says in an interview with the Lusa agency, in Brussels, the European Commissioner for Management by Crises, Janez Lenarčič.

In an allusion to the forest fires of June and October 2017 in the country, which caused more than 100 deaths and 500 thousand hectares of burned area, Janez Lenarčič tells Lusa that, that year, “Portugal did not have this capacity of its own”, nor could it count with support from other Member States due to lack of availability of resources.

For this reason, since then, the European Commission has invested in preparedness against forest fires and, after the necessary negotiations between the EU co-legislators (as Civil Protection is a national competence), it was in talks with the Canadian manufacturer Canadair, which was recently concluded, to reinforce the European fleet and that of the “most vulnerable” countries.

“With the signatures [between the governments of these six countries and the company] that we hope will occur this year, we must complete this process. […] Two Member States have already signed contracts of this type in March, Greece, and Croatia, and we hope that Portugal will do so […] and that, soon, Spain, Italy, and France will do so too, so that it will be possible to start the production”, says Janez Lenarčič to Lusa.

A budget of 600 million euros is at stake for the acquisition of 12 new firefighting aircraft that will be distributed, from 2027, across six Member States, including Portugal.

The idea is, precisely, that the 12 aircraft will increase the aerial firefighting capacity of the rescEU strategic reserve, with the European commissioner speaking of medium amphibious aircraft that are “popular in Mediterranean countries” because they allow water to be refilled at sea, in lakes or rivers.

“If it were necessary to go to the airport to refuel, it would take much longer, and time and speed are essential when dealing with forest fires”, points out Janez Lenarčič, speaking of planes being “the best possible option” as these countries “never are far from the sea or other body of water.”

The first aircraft is expected to take another three years to be built, meaning it will only arrive in 2027.

Janez Lenarčič tells Lusa that, although two aircraft are based in Portugal (the Portuguese State is responsible for their maintenance and parking), they can be mobilized to other EU countries, as they are part of the European reserve, and the same applies to the rest.