Europe’s devastating wildfire season is continuing into the final weeks of summer, with the EU extending emergency firefighting support to Serbia as strong winds threaten to make conditions even more difficult.

Wildfires affecting Serbia’s Deliblato Sands Special Nature Reserve and other areas had burned around 13,920 hectares by 26 August, according to the EU’s Copernicus programme.

Serbia requested assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism on 21 August. European helicopters were in the air less than 24 hours later.

The EU has now extended that support until 5 September, with four helicopters from the rescEU strategic reserve in Czechia, Romania and Slovakia remaining deployed alongside a Romanian ground firefighting team.

Copernicus satellite mapping has also been activated to help emergency services assess affected areas and plan their response.

Serbia becomes the latest country to need European firefighting help

The emergency in Serbia is part of a much wider mobilisation across Europe this summer.

The EU entered the 2026 wildfire season expecting difficult conditions. In June, the European Commission announced its largest-ever wildfire response operation, with 777 firefighters from 14 European countries pre-positioned in high-risk areas including Spain, France, Portugal, Greece, Italy and Cyprus.

A European reserve of 22 firefighting planes and five helicopters was also put on standby.

Those resources have since been called into action across the continent. As of 24 August, countries had activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for wildfires multiple times during 2026, including Spain, France, Greece, Portugal, Belgium and Serbia.

By mid-August, the European Commission described the 2026 wildfire season as already “exceptionally severe”, with the area burned by the end of July reaching around 2.5 times the usual level.

The situation has required firefighters, helicopters and aircraft to cross national borders as individual countries’ emergency services come under pressure.

Spain and France have been hit particularly hard by wildfires in 2026

Few countries illustrate the scale of Europe’s 2026 wildfire season better than Spain and France.

Both countries have repeatedly requested European assistance this summer.

France activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in July, with the EU coordinating eight firefighting planes, four helicopters, 187 firefighters and 47 vehicles during its response.

Spain has also required substantial international assistance. In July, six planes, a helicopter and 229 firefighters with 84 vehicles were deployed through the European mechanism. In August, another 104 French firefighters and 36 vehicles were sent to Aragón, where close to 16,000 hectares had burned.

The scale of the response shows how difficult the summer has become. Before the season even began, the EU had positioned hundreds of firefighters in France and Spain specifically because they were considered high-risk areas.

And the problem extends well beyond individual outbreaks. The European Commission says wildfire seasons are becoming longer, earlier and more destructive, while hotter and drier summers are increasing the risk of severe fires.

The EU has deployed assistance to both France and Spain under the EU civil protection mechanism as ongoing wildfires have triggered one of the biggest evacuation operations in Europe, displacing more than 300,000 people in France and Spain.

In France, the EU has deployed 7 planes and 4 helicopters from Czechia, Croatia, Germany, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden, and Türkiye. Most of these aircraft are part of the rescEU firefighting fleet. In Spain, the EU has mobilised six planes from Greece, Italy and Türkiye, and deployed 134 personnel and 41 vehicles from Portugal.

The EU’s Copernicus satellite service is also providing rapid emergency maps to support the response on the ground. The EU’s emergency response coordination centre remains in close contact with both the French and Spanish authorities, to assess what further support can be potentially mobilised, and a liaison officer from the European Commission is in Bordeaux to help national authorities coordinate EU assistance.

As part of the EU’s preparedness measures ahead of this year’s wildfire season, firefighting teams from other European countries had already been pre-positioned in France and Spain before the fires began, allowing them to reinforce national responders immediately.

“Right now, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, while firefighters battle walls of flame in dramatic conditions to save lives and communities. No country should ever have to face a disaster of this scale alone. That is exactly why Europe built a common response capacity: aircraft in the sky, firefighters on the ground, and more support standing ready the moment it is needed. To the people of France and Spain: Europe will stand with you until the fires are out,” says Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management.

The European Union has announced an additional €10 million in humanitarian funding to support communities most affected by the recent earthquakes in Venezuela. The new allocation expands the EU’s emergency response as the country continues to confront widespread destruction and urgent humanitarian needs.

A further €10 million, pending approval by the Budgetary Authority, is earmarked for search‑and‑rescue operations, medical teams, specialist support and in‑kind assistance already deployed through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Lahbib’s visit underscores EU solidarity

The announcement follows last week’s visit to Venezuela by EU Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib, who travelled to the country to reaffirm the bloc’s support. During her mission, she met EU‑funded humanitarian partners, local authorities coordinating the emergency response, and members of a European medical team deployed through the Civil Protection Mechanism.

In a video shared on social media last Friday during her stop in La Guaira, Lahbib highlighted the scale of the destruction and stressed that the European Union stands with families displaced by last month’s earthquakes.

“I just arrived at La Guaira, the epicentre of the back‑to‑back earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 June, and you can see behind me the magnitude of the disaster,” she said, standing among buildings reduced to rubble.

Air bridge deliveries and rescue teams support

The new funding adds to the €5 million in life‑saving assistance approved at the end of June and the €52 million allocated earlier this year to address the humanitarian consequences of Venezuela’s socio‑economic crisis. EU aid is channelled exclusively through partners such as UN agencies and international NGOs working with local organisations.

Under the EU Humanitarian Air Bridge, two EU‑funded flights have already delivered nearly 80 tonnes of essential supplies. Through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, around 750 responders and experts from 18 countries have been mobilised, providing rescue teams, medicines, shelter materials and a satellite telecommunications platform. The EU’s Copernicus service has also supplied emergency mapping to support relief operations.

Local authorities and humanitarian partners estimate that the earthquakes have affected more than 200,000 people, with thousands displaced and in need of urgent assistance.