Greece to contribute two firefighting aircraft

Greece will participate in a new European Union program aimed at enlisting the help of memberstates to respond to wildfires and other natural disasters, the country’s General Secretariat for Civil Protection said yesterday. Last month, the European Commission inaugurated its first fleet of firefighting aircraft under a new program dubbed rescEU without the participation of Greece. The secretariat had said at the time that it was in talks with the Commission about Greece’s participation. Yesterday it said Greece will join the program with two Canadair CL-415 firefighting aircraft. EU funds cover 75 percent of the aircraft’s operating costs.