Saturday

2nd Dec 2023

10 EU states cutting firefighters, despite summer wildfires

Listen to article

On Tuesday (15 August), a wildfire broke out in the southern French region of Perpignan, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 people and requiring some 450 firefighters to bring the blaze under control.

The fire, caused by severe drought, extreme heat and high winds, was just one of the many summer disasters.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

July was the hottest month ever recorded by the EU's climate monitoring agency, Copernicus. Temperatures in Greece reached 46 degrees Celsius.

Southern Europe was the area most affected by severe heat waves, with anomalies of around 4°C recorded in Italy, Greece, and Spain.

In mid-June, a report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) gave a "pessimistic" outlook for the summer.

Climate change has increased the severity and frequency of heatwaves, droughts, floods, and wildfires in recent years — and not just in southern Europe.

Despite this increase in fires, floods and other emergencies exacerbated by the climate crisis, the number of firefighters has been cut in 10 European countries in the past few years.

According to new figures from Eurostat, between 2021 and 2022 alone, instead of increasing personnel to deal with these natural disasters, the response in several member states was the opposite.

From one year to the next, France lost almost 5,500 firefighters, Romania 4,250 and Portugal almost 3,000.

"All countries should be investing in their fire services and other public services to meet the increased burden that will be put on them by climate change," the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) secretary general Esther Lynch said.

European trade unions are concerned about the lack of staffing, investment and preparedness of fire and rescue services in member states.

According to the European Public Service Union (EPSU) estimates, there is a shortfall of between 20,000 and 40,000 additional firefighter professionals, depending on the number of hours worked and the area covered.

"If Europe is serious about climate adaptation and mitigation, it has to stop with cuts in public services," EPSU general secretary Jan Willem said.

Moreover, under the EU Commission's proposal for new economic rules, the ETUC estimates that the money the EU-27 will have to cut next year could fund around one million new public sector workers.

"Investment is already insufficient, and I'm concerned more cuts could be on the way if the EU reintroduces austerity rules next year," Lynch stressed.

In addition to staff shortages and public investment, one of the biggest problems facing the European labour market today is a lack of investment in skills and an ageing workforce.

The EU bolstered its rescue team this summer with 24 planes and 450 firefighters, but unions say this is only a first step that does not solve the underlying crisis.

Adapting to Southern Europe's 'new normal' — from droughts to floods

Extreme weather events in recent months have worsened agricultural production in southern Europe, prompting concerns for authorities in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy. As countries will likely face dryer conditions, experts urge adaptation measures for the 'new normal'.

Analysis

Europe's summer wildfires: the lessons to be learnt

This summer's wildfires have dominated headlines, featuring pictures of helicopters flying overhead and tourists fleeing — but what lessons have experts drawn? They are calling for the need to manage forests and vegetation, and create more forest firebreaks.

Opinion

'Pay or okay?' — Facebook & Instagram vs the EU

Since last week, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta corporation is forcing its European users to either accept their intrusive privacy practices — or pay €156 per year to access Facebook and Instagram without tracking advertising.

Opinion

My experience trying to negotiate with Uber

After working with people in unusual employment situations for a decade, I thought I had seen it all as a union organiser. Then I began dealing with Uber.

Latest News

  1. Israel's EU ambassador: 'No clean way to do this operation'
  2. Brussels denies having no 'concern' on Spain's amnesty law
  3. Dubai's COP28 — a view from the ground
  4. Germany moves to criminalise NGO search-and-rescue missions
  5. Israel recalls ambassador to Spain in new diplomatic spat
  6. Migrant return bill 'obstructed' as EU states mull new position
  7. Paris and Berlin key to including rape in gender-violence directive
  8. What are the big money debates at COP28 UN climate summit?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us