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Lived Solidarity and ‘Fire Brigade Erasmus’: More Cross-Border Disaster Protection in the EU

by AI | 16.Oct 2025 | Europe in brief AI

Some people go on vacation to Spain – others, on the other hand, to combat a forest fire. For firefighters from EU member states, it is likely to happen more often in the future that they will have such deployments far away from their own fire station.

Firefighting aircraft over the Croatian island of Ciovo in the summer of 2025: Increasingly, disaster relief workers from other EU countries are also present at the scene during operations like this. Photo: Miroslav Lelas/AP/dpa

Brussels (enr) – The number of operations outside their respective home countries for fire brigades and other civil protection forces in Europe is likely to increase in the future. This is what the EU and governments in EU member states are currently preparing for, as was made clear during a panel discussion on Wednesday evening at the representation of the German federal state of Lower Saxony in Brussels.

Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) pointed out that there have recently been repeated “major situations” in which emergency services from other EU countries have rushed to help. She cited the deployment of firefighters from the federal states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia to combat wildfires in Spain in August 2025, as well as the Christmas floods of 2023, when firefighters from France also fought against the floods in Lower Saxony. For this lived solidarity, it is now about further developing common standards, equipment, and procedures.

According to the EU Commission, the number of corresponding operations has recently increased significantly. In the past, there were an average of about 20 disaster relief requests per year; today, there are more than 100, said Maciej Popowski, Director General of the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (DG ECHO) of the EU Commission. Time and again, the events to be combated have resulted in devastating damage, as seen recently with the fires in Spain and Portugal. Overall, more than one million hectares of land have burned in the EU this year – equivalent to one-third of Belgium’s area and three times the average of the previous 20 years.

New Strategies

In this context, the EU Commission has not only developed new strategies on crisis preparedness and stockpiling but is also reviewing its disaster protection mechanism, Popowski said. For this Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), the upcoming medium-term financial framework of the EU provides for eleven billion euros, spread over seven years.

Among other things, military and civilian agencies are to be better coordinated in the future. One of the ideas for the future is also “a kind of exchange program for young volunteers. We call it ‘Firefighter Erasmus’,” said Popowski. It is important that: “The member states remain responsible. But the EU can and wants to provide increased support where European coordination is needed.”

Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister made it clear that many details regarding increased foreign deployments still need to be clarified, such as insurance issues in case a volunteer firefighter is injured while combating wildfires in Spain. However, according to Behrens, the interest in helping others not just in one’s own backyard is very high: When interest in corresponding additional qualifications was surveyed in Lower Saxony, there were more applications from fire brigades than available spots. (October 13)