8 July 2026 10:29 UTC · European Commission · EU Commission Press Release · Source · Email X Link

European Commission says EU responds to heatwaves and wildfires

Key points

Reports severe heatwave and wildfire impacts across Europe
Details EU preparedness, response capacities and funding instruments

TL;DR

States Europe is the fastest-warming continent and reports record heatwaves and droughts in 2026.
Reports at least 3,500 fatalities attributed to the June heatwave and notes no activation of the UCPM for heatwave emergencies to date.
Notes last year more than one million hectares burned across the EU and 19 requests to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism.
Details preparedness and response measures including rescEU and Civil Protection Pool assets, recent deployments to Portugal and France, funding tools and a forthcoming European Integrated Framework for Climate Resilience.

Original text

European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Lahbib at the European Parliament on EU Response to Heatwaves and Wildfires Strasbourg, 8 July 2026 Europe is the fasted-warming continent on the planet. We are experiencing the impact of this scientific reality in our daily lives from record heatwaves and droughts to devastating wildfires. This year has again broken records. Only weeks after historically high temperatures in June, another major heatwave is approaching. The consequences of the recent heatwave were grave. Labour productivity went down, schools were shut, workplaces closed, hospitals overwhelmed, roads damaged, rail tracks buckled, and crops ravaged. People paid the highest price: at least 3,500 fatalities could be attributed to the June heatwave. On the 3 July, France reported more than 2,000 excess deaths from last week of June, and these are only preliminary estimates. To date, there has been no activation of the UCPM related to heatwaves emergencies. Heatwaves increase wildfire danger. Last year, more than one million hectares burned across the EU, the highest figure ever recorded, triggering 19 requests for assistance from the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. This is the largest number ever. This year, the wildfire season started unusually early, with two activations of the Mechanism already in late April and early May. This requires swift action. The Commission has already taken a range of actions in the area of prevention, preparedness, response and restoration. While national authorities remain primarily responsible for civil protection, the Commission supports Member States across the entire disaster cycle. The EU invests in science, technology and innovation to monitor drought conditions, improve early detection and enable faster action, notably through Copernicus emergency Management services. We also promote prevention through analytical tools, peer reviews, funding, cross-border cooperation and the exchange of best practices. In March 2026, the Commission adopted a Communication, complemented by a Council Recommendation on Wildfire Risk Management. Together with Member States, we will develop implementation guidelines and an EU funding portal for integrated wildfire risk management, improve data, raise population awareness and support international engagement. We have also reinforced operational preparedness. Through rescEU and the European Civil Protection Pool, 22 firefighting aircrafts, five helicopters, and 22 certified ground firefighting teams are available across 10 countries. In addition, 777 firefighters from 14 countries are pre-positioned in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. Following the lessons learned from the last summer, we have strengthened our response capacities in the south of our Union with a new European regional firefighting station in Cyprus. This will allow us to take immediate action when needs arise. In recent days, Portugal and France asked for assistance due to severe wildfires. In response, 9 rescEU airplanes were deployed – 3 to Portugal and 6 to France. The European Union Solidarity Fund also remains important, providing financial support to Member States and accession countries affected by natural disasters, and helping them address the burden of emergency and recovery measures. Cohesion Policy and funding play a crucial role in strengthening resilience, combining prevention and preparedness before disasters strike, as well as reconstruction. The Recovery and Resilience Facility includes investments and reforms aimed at increasing resilience to natural disasters. Finally, we are also preparing a new European Integrated Framework for Climate Resilience, which we expect to adopt later of this year. The road ahead is a difficult one but through cooperation, engagement and solidarity, Europe will move towards a collective and clear objective: To raise the protection of our citizens and our territories against the growing and challenging risk landscape. SPEECH/26/1558

Key tags

Topics

Keywords

Stats

Word count: 592

Summary words: 104

Compression: 18%

Boilerplate removed: Yes

Top phrases:

Entities

People

Commissioner Lahbib

Organizations

Places

Strasbourg

Countries

Regions

Europe