COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on integrated wildfire risk management
Date: 2026-03-25
Institutions: Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), European Commission
Subjects: aid to disaster victims, crisis management, cross-border cooperation, disaster resilience, environmental monitoring, environmental risk prevention, fire, fire protection, natural disaster, risk management

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 25.3.2026  COM(2026) 330 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on integrated wildfire risk management  
 
 
Introduction 
The summer of 2025 underscored the growing threat of wildfires1 in Europe and the urgent 
need  to  act.  Despite  increasing  prevention  and  preparedness  efforts  at  both  national  and 
European Union (EU) level, the cumulative burnt area in the EU was bigger than ever registered 
before: it exceeded 1 million hectares, an area bigger than Cyprus. The Union Civil Protection 
Mechanism (UCPM) was activated more frequently than ever before to provide assistance.  

The EU’s recorded burnt area in four of the last five years has been above average, and the size 
and intensity of wildfires are increasing2. This coincides with increased global warming, with 
the  past  three  years  being  the  warmest  on  record3.  There  are  more  very  large  fires,  or 
‘megafires’,  which  are  impossible  to  bring  under  control  through  traditional  means  of 
firefighting.4 The likelihood of such extreme fires is expected to more than double by the end 
of the century5. While the projected increase in extreme fire danger is the strongest in southern 
Europe, wildfires also increasingly affect areas that have not been considered to be fire-prone 
regions in the past, such as Scandinavia, central, eastern or northwestern Europe6.  

Wildfires  present  a  complex  challenge  for  the  EU,  with  the  potential  to  cause  far-reaching 
damage  to  Europe’s  society,  economy,  environment,  climate,  infrastructure  and  cultural 
heritage. Human costs, including loss of lives and livelihoods, are invaluable and public health 
impacts  caused  by  degradation  of  ecosystems  and  worsening  air  quality  are  significant. 
Wildfires moreover threaten local food supplies and have a negative impact on the income of 
affected farmers and foresters. Damage to property and infrastructure is estimated to cost the 
EU  around  EUR  2.5  billion  every  year7.  Reducing  wildfire  risk  is  therefore  not  only  an 
environmental  necessity,  but  a  key  component  of  Europe’s  resilience  and  competitiveness, 
requiring  stronger  investment  in  prevention.  Strengthening  fire-resilient  landscapes  requires 
active  and  sustainable  land  management,  ecosystem  restoration,  and  the  involvement  of 
farmers, forest holders and rural communities.  

The increase in wildfire risk in the EU can be explained through three main factors: climate 
change, changes in land management and human behaviour.  

Climate  change  makes  extreme  weather  conditions  more  likely:  heatwaves,  long  drought 
periods and increasing temperatures lead to dry soils and vegetation, providing suitable fuel for 
wildfires. Such fire weather conditions8 are expected to worsen all across Europe9. Achieving 

1 “Wildfire” is defined as “an unusual or extraordinary free-burning vegetation fire which may be started maliciously, 
accidently, or through natural means, that negatively influences social, economic, or environmental values”, United Nations 
Environment Programme (2022). Spreading like Wildfire – The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires, 
https://wedocs.unep.org/items/5d3e5267-17bd-4b06-9964-494dd01f7791.      
2 According to the standardised data collected by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) since 2006.  
3 https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-2025-was-third-hottest-year-record . 
4 Sparking firesmart policies in the EU (2028), https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/0b74e77d-f389-11e8-
9982-01aa75ed71a1/language-en.  
5 Grünig, M., Seidl, R., & Senf, C. (2023). Increasing aridity causes larger and more severe forest fires across Europe. Global 
Change Biology, 29, 1648–1659. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16547. 
6 European Environment Agency,  https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/european-climate-risk-assessment.  
7 https://discomap.eea.europa.eu/ClimatePreparedness2025/?page=Wildfires-in-Europe.  
8 Characterised by high temperatures, low relative humidity and high wind speed. 
9 Jessica Hetzer et al 2024 Environ. Res. Lett. 19 084017 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad5b09. 

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Europe’s 2050 climate neutrality and boosting climate resilience and preparedness are key 
to managing wildfire risk. 

Changes to land management and degradation of natural ecosystems over the last few decades 
have played an equally important role in the incidence and significance of wildfires. Socio-
economic  and  cultural  shifts have  led to rural depopulation, the  abandonment of  traditional 
farming practices and a  lack of active forest management, resulting in fuel accumulation in 
large areas. At the same time, the continuous expansion of urban areas into forests and wildland 
has increased the fire risk to people living in these areas.  

In addition, human activity plays a major role in wildfire ignitions. It is estimated that the 
share of wildfire ignitions caused by human activity in the EU by far exceeds natural causes 
and could be as high as 96%10. In addition to sparks from power lines, train sparks or fireworks, 
negligence, such as discarded cigarettes or hot ashes, and arson are frequent causes of wildfires.  
Some of them are also started deliberately, for example to change the protection status of land 
and enable different land uses. This underscores the importance of population awareness and 
prevention measures to mitigate these risks.  

Responsibility for implementing wildfire risk management lies primarily with Member 
States11,  regional  authorities  and  land  managers  while  the  EU  supports  these  efforts  by 
providing necessary funding, data, and knowledge. Given Europe’s diverse landscapes, forest 
structures and climate conditions, wildfire risk management needs to be locally adapted and 
implemented at the most appropriate level. This Communication acknowledges that one size 
does not fit all and presents concrete actions on how the EU can better support and complement 
wildfire risk management efforts at all levels. In line with the Preparedness Union Strategy12, 
it outlines an integrated approach to wildfire risk management, and it identifies measures 
to support its implementation at both the EU and national level13. Integrated wildfire risk 
management addresses wildfire risk holistically as a long-term problem across its ecological, 
social,  cultural,  and  economic  dimensions,  covering  the  whole  risk  management  cycle  of 
prevention, preparedness, response and recovery14. 

10 Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2023, https://data.effis.emergency.copernicus.eu/effis/reports-and-
publications/annual-fire-reports/Annual_Report _2023.pdf, p.6.    
11 For instance, measures related to land planning and management, civil protection or building codes. 
12 JOIN(2025) 130 final. 
13 This reinforced approach is embedded within the Preparedness Union strategy for a more proactive and holistic approach 
to civil preparedness as well as within the forthcoming European integrated framework for climate resilience.  
14 In line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.  

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Figure 1:  Different elements that comprise integrated wildfire risk management 

The Communication builds on consultations with EU institutions and bodies, Member States, 
experts, stakeholders, and academia, and aims to strengthen cooperation with them to address 
increasingly complex wildfire risks. 

I. Wildfire prevention through landscape management and restoration 
I.1 Building fire-resilient landscapes  

Rural depopulation and land abandonment increases the risk of the lack of active forest and 
land  management,  which  leads  to  a  build-up  of  flammable  vegetation  and  the  creation  of 
homogenous  landscapes  with  a  high  potential  for  extreme  fire  behaviour,  especially  in  the 
Mediterranean region15. At the same time, traditional practices that reduce fuel load (i.e. the 
amount  of  combustible  vegetation)  and  its  continuity  in  the  landscape  such  as  prescribed 
burning  and  grazing,  transhumance16  and  other  types  of  grassland  management  have  been 
underutilised. Promoting more diverse landscapes and sustainable forest management can help 
reduce the build-up of vegetation that can feed fire, slow down the spread of fires, and reduce 
the likelihood of large-scale fires.  

Adaptive  land  management  and  holistic  landscape  planning  therefore  play  a  key  role  by 
creating multifunctional fire-resilient landscapes17. Particular attention should also be paid 
to the wildland-urban interface, where prevention measures can significantly reduce wildfire 
risks. 

The EU and its Member States need to foster fair living and working conditions in vibrant 
rural areas, in line with the Vision for Agriculture and Food. Especially farmers, foresters and 
other  local  land  managers  are  key  actors  in  wildfire  prevention,  as  they  possess  practical 
knowledge  adapted  to  the  local  environmental  and  climatic  conditions.  Recognising  and 

15 EASAC (2025). Changing Wildfires: Policy Options for a Fire-literate and Fire-adapted Europe.  
16 Seasonal movement of people and their livestock between mountain and lowland pastures. 
17 More on future actions for climate-resilient landscapes in Section V. 

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Integrated Wildfire Risk Management•EU bodiesincl. Commission•Member States•Regions•Stakeholders: landmanagers, firefighters, communitiesetc.•Environment and climate•Agricultureand rural development•Civilprotection& relatedworkforce•Business and competitiveness•Cohesion& neighborhood•Research and innovation•Critical infrastructure•Education, training and skillsPreventionPreparednessResponseRecovery•Legislation•Guidelines / Recommendations•Funding Instruments•Coordination•DataPoliciesand InstrumentsDisasterRisk Management CycleEU Policy AreasGovernanceLevels 
 
 
 
 
rewarding  their  role  is  essential  to  maintain  rural  areas  and  ensure  long-term  landscape 
resilience.  

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the main source of EU funding for land-based 
wildfire  prevention.  It  supports  interventions  and  investments  for  active  adaptive  and 
sustainable  forest  management  (e.g.  thinning,  pruning,  species  diversification),  prevention 
measures like firebreaks and firefighting infrastructure such as forest roads. It promotes the 
creation and maintenance of mosaic landscape elements18, the management of areas prone to 
abandonment19, more extensive grazing20,  and active grassland management21 as a sustainable 
tool for fuel management in vulnerable landscapes. In the programming period 2028-2034, the 
Commission  aims  to  continue  funding  for  currently  available  investments  and  land 
management-related prevention and restoration measures22. This includes agri-environmental 
and climate actions, with  the aim of rewarding farmers  and forest  holders  for their positive 
efforts,  putting  special  emphasis  on  supporting  voluntary  transition  towards  more  resilient 
production  systems,  including  extensive  livestock  systems.  This  also  covers  support  for 
voluntary commitments in natural and seminatural areas, in particular mountain and marginal 
areas.  The  Commission  also  proposes  to  better  target  income  support  to  farmers  in  need, 
including  specific  types  of  farming  managing  agricultural  areas  at  risk  of  abandonment  of 
agricultural production. 

The EU bioeconomy strategy supports the sustainable use of biomass, including fire-prone 
regions, through the development of bio-based value chains. Strengthening these value chains 
can  help  mobilise  under-utilised  biomass,  reducing  fire  risk  while  creating  new  economic 
opportunities for rural regions.  

Grazing as a wildfire risk reduction good practice  

The  Andalusian  Network  of  Pasture-Firebreak  Areas  (RAPCA)  managed  by  the  Andalusian 
regional government (Spain), is a well-established payment scheme for wildfire prevention through 
the use of directed grazing (mainly sheep and goats) in  strategically selected firebreaks in forests. 
Currently,  RAPCA  covers  more  than  5,000  hectares  of  public  forests  through  contracts  between 
shepherds and local environment or water agencies and is complemented by CAP funding.  

I.2 Wildfire risk management through nature protection and restoration 

Nature protection and restoration activities are an integral part of wildfire risk management as 
they boost ecosystems’ resilience and health, mitigating the risk and impacts of extreme events. 
Nature-based solutions which are adapted to the specificities of the biogeographical regions 
and resilient to projected future climatic conditions play a crucial part23.  

18 Such as vineyards, orchards and agroforestry. 
19 Such as targeted income support and payments for natural or other area-specific constraints.  
20 https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/stories/value-grazing-wildfire-prevention-tool.  
21 See role of CAP instruments in grassland management in this grassland brief . 
22 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Fund for economic, 
social and territorial cohesion, agriculture and rural, fisheries and maritime, prosperity and security for the period 2028-2034 
and amending Regulation (EU) 2023/955 and Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, COM/2025/565 final. 
23 https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/nature-based-solutions-for-fire-resilient-european-forests 

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Forest restoration for improved wildfire resilience  

LIFE project GOPROFOR MED identified interventions in protected Mediterranean habitats 
which simultaneously achieve the objectives of biodiversity conservation and wildfire risk 
reduction. For example, promoting stand structuring in groups can help to reduce the risk of 
crown fires by breaking the vertical and horizontal vegetation continuity. At the same time, 
promoting diverse tree species, especially fire-resilient native broadleaves, can reduce the 
overall flammability and promote post-fire recovery.  

It is crucial, and feasible, to define biodiversity conservation objectives and measures that are 
compatible  with  wildfire  risk  management  goals,  and  vice  versa.  The  Commission  will 
therefore publish a guidance document on Natura 2000 and climate change to promote 
ecosystem-based  fuel-reduction  measures  that  are  compatible  with  the  sites’  conservation 
objectives and calls on the Member States to use this guidance. 

Member  States  can  also  use  their  national  restoration  plans  under  the  Nature  Restoration 
Regulation24 to integrate biodiversity objectives with wildfire risk management. The risks of 
forest fires need to be considered when planning and putting in place the necessary restoration 
measures and when setting satisfactory levels for biodiversity indicators for forests.  

In  forest  ecosystems,  it  is  important  to  promote  sustainable  forest  management  and  diverse 
forest structures, where possible, including the use of alternatives to monocultural plantations 
of highly flammable species, in line with the sustainable forest management criteria as defined 
by  Forest  Europe.  Where  relevant,  the  Commission  will  encourage  the  uptake  of  existing 
guidelines  on  closer-to-nature  forest  management  and  biodiversity-friendly  afforestation 
and  reforestation25,  with  an  emphasis  on  the  Mediterranean  region  and  synergies  with  the 
Nature Restoration Regulation’s goals.  

The European water resilience strategy26 supports the creation of water-resilient landscapes 
that  act  as  sponges  by  retaining  water.  The  restoration  of  wetlands,  peatlands,  rivers,  and 
floodplains  will  create  natural  fire  breaks  and  help  stabilise  hydrological  cycles  in  the 
landscape, thus reducing drought and vapour pressure deficit as drivers of wildfire risk through 
plant desiccation and mortality. The strategy also addresses the aging and dysfunctional water 
infrastructures in many Member States. 

Measures to support landscape management and restoration 

The Commission will 

Support knowledge sharing on prescribed burning techniques, procedures, regulations and 
skills among EU-level experts through the UCPM Knowledge Network.  

Promote grazing,  silvopasture and  agroforestry  through the upcoming livestock strategy  to 
reduce wildfire risk. 

24 Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2024 on nature restoration and 
amending Regulation (EU) 2022/869. 
25 https://op.europa.eu/sv/publication-detail/-/publication/1c4561c7-7c54-11ee-99ba-01aa75ed71a1/language-en.  
26 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social 
Committee And the Committee of the Regions - European Water Resilience Strategy. 

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Gather  best  practices  on  sustainable  vegetation  fuel  management27  and  promote  their 
dissemination in relevant platforms.  

Provide technical support to Member States to integrate wildfire risk considerations into 
their national restoration plans throughout 2026 and 2027. 

Member States are encouraged to 

Consider including in operational groups a topic on wildfires, in line with their CAP strategic 
plans, in their calls for proposals for the European Innovation Partnerships (EIP-AGRI). 

Integrate  wildfire  risk  prevention  and  resilience  into  national  restoration  plans  and 
conservation policies, and vice-versa.  

Consider dedicated measures to restore wetlands, peatlands, rivers and floodplains, in line 
with  the  Commission  recommendations  for  the  implementation  of  the  Water  Framework 
Directive28, including the future Commission Guidance on Drought Management Plans. 

Prepare locally adapted fuel management guidelines and tools, involving social partners 
and local authorities.  

II. Strengthening preparedness with better data and research 
Wildfire monitoring and risk assessment in the EU continues to face challenges, limiting the 
effectiveness  of  prevention,  preparedness  and  response.  Gaps  remain  in  consistency, 
geographic and population coverage, and cross-border integration of risk assessments because 
of limited availability of quality data. Many Member States rely on outdated hazard maps29. 
Moreover, because cascading risks such as wildfire-induced landslides, air pollution, and soil 
erosion are not integrated into risk assessments, authorities are less able to anticipate multi-
hazard  scenarios.  Concerning  short-term  forecasts,  suboptimal  modelling  of  evolving  fire 
behaviour hampers effective response efforts.   

Through its Technical Support Instrument30, the Commission already supports several Member 
States in developing wildfire risk assessment methodologies, provides online training modules 
on fire risk mapping and spatial analysis tools. Future action will prioritise strengthening pan-
European capacities by establishing regular, standardised wildfire risk assessments under 
current and future climate scenarios. At the same time, the Commission promotes the use of 
Destination Earth, digital twins, and other platforms to simulate wildfire risks with integrated 
data  and  high-resolution  models  powered  by  supercomputers.  In  addition,  to  certify  carbon 
farming under the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation, the Commission will 
provide harmonised datasets to assess risks of natural disturbances. 

The  EU’s  wildfire  monitoring  capabilities  deliver  crucial  data  and  continue  to  evolve.  The 

27 Building on Commission’s report (2021) Land-based wildfire prevention https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/4e6cc1f1-8b8a-11eb-b85c-01aa75ed71a1.  
28 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=COM:2025:2:FIN.  
29 European Court of Auditors. Special report 16/2025: EU funding to tackle forest fires. 
30 https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/technical-support-
instrument/technical-support-instrument-tsi_en.  

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European  Forest  Fire  Information  System  (EFFIS)31,  a  component  of  the  Copernicus 
emergency  management  Service  (CEMS),  provides  a  free  mapping  service  to  emergency 
managers for detecting, mapping, and assessing wildfires and their impacts. The CEMS on-
demand  service  also  provides  very  high-resolution  rapid  assessments  during  response  and 
recovery  phases.  To  further  improve  monitoring  capabilities,  it  is  crucial  to  strengthen  the 
autonomy and interoperability of these services. EFFIS will include European satellite data32 
to reduce dependency on other programmes and prepare the ground to include data from partner 
international space agencies (e.g. Canada WildFireSat). 

To  bridge  the  existing  gaps,  Member  States  need  to  further  improve  their  early-warning 
systems, fire monitoring and fire behaviour modelling capabilities, and their framework for 
wildfire risk assessments, including by using high-resolution vegetation mapping. These tools 
need to be accompanied by strengthened capacities to use the available data and incorporate 
it in evidence-based decision-making. The Commission will support Member States in these 
efforts  by  improving  the  early  warning  tools  and  providing  standardised  wildfire  risk 
modelling at pan-European scale in EFFIS.  

Strengthening European fire observation and forecasting technologies, such as through Earth 
Intelligence platforms and AI-driven systems, can support integrated wildfire risk management 
and EU industrial competitiveness through Horizon Europe and Copernicus services.  

Measures to strengthen preparedness with better data and research 

The Commission will 

Further  develop  EFFIS  to  improve  its  early  warning  and  monitoring  tools  and  develop  a 
roadmap for producing regularly updated fuel maps across Europe in 2026 and develop by 
2027 capabilities to produce standardised wildfire risk modelling at pan-European scale, 
identify management strategies and best practices that reduce fire risk and build landscape 
resilience in the wildland-urban interface.  

Explore opportunities for future research and innovation support for integrated wildfire 
risk management in agriculture, forestry and rural areas under Horizon Europe, including the 
proposed partnership on Forests and Forestry for a Sustainable Future and via a possible call 
on biodiversity in 2026-2027.  

Promote the uptake of innovative land-based wildfire prevention measures, including nature-
based solutions, and to that end present by 2027 effective practices in sustainable farming 
and sustainable forest management that have been successfully demonstrated in various 
EU-funded projects. 

Provide updated risk assessment guidelines taking integrated wildfire risk management into 
account for Member Sates’ regular reporting to the Commission33 by 2027. 

31 https://forest-fire.emergency.copernicus.eu/.  
32 E.g. Copernicus Sentinel-3 and Geostationary Meteosat Third Generation. 
33 Reporting based on Decision no. 1313/2013/EU.  

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Member States are encouraged to 

Participate in the development and promotion of Destination Earth for civil protection 
and preparedness, for instance by demonstrating pilot use cases for wildfire risk modelling 
and foresight according to further UCPM needs.   

Make systematic use of EU-level tools and data (e.g. Copernicus services and EFFIS), to 
support evidence-based wildfire risk management as well as their project funding decisions. 

Update wildfire risk assessments and use improved fire behaviour analyses to designate 
priority areas for prevention and preparedness.   

Develop wildfire behaviour analysis capabilities34, and decision support systems dedicated 
to wildfire risk management.  

III. Population awareness and preparedness  
III.1 Raising wildfire risk awareness 

To  lower  the  risk  of  wildfires  from  human  activity,  people  should  adjust  their  behaviour  to 
increased  fire  danger.  In  this  regard,  giving  access  to  the  public  to  fire  risk  data  can  raise 
awareness and boost prevention efforts. Risk communication must be accessible to everyone 
and  should  factor  in  psychological,  social,  cultural,  and  political  factors  that  influence  how 
people understand, perceive and react to risk. It is key to include all segments of society to raise 
awareness amongst different groups of stakeholders  taking into account their specific needs 
and  challenges.  To  that  end,  the  Commission  has  published  an  overview  of  wildfire  risk 
awareness and communication initiatives across the EU and beyond35.  

Raising awareness to wildfires should be prioritised both within the tourism sector and local 
communities.  Destination  management  organisations,  local  and  regional  authorities,  civil 
society  and  the  private  sector  can  help  raising  awareness  while  preserving tourism in  these 
areas. The upcoming EU strategy for sustainable tourism will contribute to this action. 

III.2 Increasing wildfire preparedness 

Recent fire seasons have shown that many regions in the EU and its neighbourhood need to 
step up public preparedness and dissemination of knowledge about how to reduce the spread 
of wildfires and how to evacuate or shelter. As fire-prone areas become more extensive, more 
local communities will be facing significant wildfire risk. Equality considerations need to be 
mainstreamed  throughout  wildfire  preparedness,  in  line  with  the  Union  of  Equality 
framework36. In particular, people living in rural areas and persons in vulnerability situations 
can face heightened wildfire risks, limited access to resources for active land management, lack 
of access to early warnings and information during emergencies or to adequate infrastructure 
for safe evacuation.   

34 Two EU funded projects analysed extreme wildfire behaviour: the “UCPM EWED - Extreme Wildfire Events Data Hub 
for Improved Decision Making”, https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/projects/ewed, and the COST Action 
“NERO - European Network on Extreme Fire Behaviour”, https://www.cost.eu/nero-extreme-fire-behaviour/.  
35 Wildfire risk awareness good practice note.pdf. 
36 Equality and inclusion: key actions - European Commission 

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Wildfire  preparedness  should  be  improved  by  increasing  collaboration  and  participatory 
approaches with communities, including farmers, foresters, and private landowners. 

Portugal: “Safe Village, Safe People”37 

The extensive rural fires that occurred in mainland Portugal in the summer of 2017 led to a call 
for action in terms of preparedness and awareness. As a result, the “Safe Village, Safe People” 
Programme  was  established  with  the  objectives  of  establishing  structural  measures  for  the 
protection of people and property, especially in the wildland-urban interface (e.g. places for 
refuge),  and,  triggering  awareness-raising  actions  regarding  risky  behaviours  and  self-
protection measures, supported by evacuation drills.  

Extreme heat,  drought  and cascading  infrastructure failures can heighten the likelihood and 
impacts  of  urban  and  industrial  fires.  Addressing  wildfire  risk  in  the  wildland-urban 
interface  is  particularly  relevant  given  the  risk  it  poses  to  human  lives,  property  and 
infrastructure. This can be exacerbated by an insufficient consideration of wildfire risk in land- 
and urban planning  or  building  codes. The  Commission  Communication and  proposal  for a 
Council Recommendation on the New European Bauhaus38 suggests integrating wildfire and 
prevention  and  preparedness  into  spatial  design  and  related  training  sessions  in  order  to 
strengthen the resilience of neighbourhoods and communities to disasters caused by climate 
change and environmental degradation. The New European Bauhaus Academy can also serve 
as an enabler for training and sustainable business development in this area. 

A  community  approach  to  wildfire  resilience  can  help  people  and  businesses  located  in 
wildland-urban interface areas to increase their wildfire preparedness and reduce risk by taking 
active  measures  around  their  buildings,  for  example  making  their  buildings  fire-resilient, 
cleaning the surrounding areas and having an emergency evacuation plan, that also addresses 
accessibility needs for persons with disabilities and older people. Engagement programmes39 
help  citizens  and  businesses  to  assess  risk  levels  and  take  appropriate  action. An  engaged 
community is also fundamental for the continued strong commitment of voluntary firefighters 
who are first responders in many European countries. 

Furthermore,  as  part  of  the  implementation  of  the  Preparedness  Union  Strategy,  the 
Commission  is  working  on  an  integrated  all-hazards  approach  to  population  preparedness, 
including  wildfires.  This  covers  actions  to  (i)  improve  early  warning  systems,  (ii)  increase 
awareness of risks and threats, (iii) develop guidelines to make the population self-sufficient 
for a minimum of 72 hours, (iv) include preparedness in the training of educational staff, and 
(v)  promote  preparedness  in  EU  youth  programmes40.  Additionally,  funding  for  strategic 
projects aimed at fostering a ‘culture of preparedness’ is available through the UCPM41.  

Wildfire education adapted to the local wildfire risk offers a wide range of tools to engage the 
public, including specific measures for children and the young, raise awareness of wildfire risk 

37 https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/stories/safe-village-safe-people-working-local-community.  
38 https://build-up.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2026-01/j7Gunh8FW7_08_01_2026_103501.pdf. 
39 The EU project FIREPRIME developed an app that offers residents of wildland urban interface areas a tool to understand 
risk and assess the vulnerability of their homes to wildfires, https://civil-protection-knowledge-
network.europa.eu/projects/fireprime. 
40 Addressing both youth organisations and volunteers through the European Solidarity Corps programme as well as intra-
European mobility and knowledge sharing programmes for schools and training institutions, in particular via the Erasmus+ 
programme. 
41 The project Empower-Citizens (https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/projects/empower-citizens) will 
integrate citizens experience into the process of drafting and revising preparedness plans, and will actively involve the public 
in preparedness activities. 

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and foster prevention, for instance through serious games42. Resilient societies should also be 
equipped to address the effects of disinformation linked to disasters and wildfires. 

Measures to improve population awareness and preparedness 

The Commission will 

Further promote and disseminate good practices in wildfire risk awareness and community 
involvement,  for  example  through  the  UCPM  Knowledge  Network,  including  developing  a 
toolkit for resilience building in the wildland-urban interface by 2027. 

Support the launch of a pan-European exchange of young firefighters under the UCPM by 
2027 to further develop a common European culture preparedness. 

Further promote, together with Member States, volunteering and exchange opportunities in 
the field of preparedness through the European Solidarity Corps and Erasmus + programmes.   

Engage with citizens43 through the Online debate on Preparedness - Citizens’ Engagement 
Platform  and  the  dedicated  European  Citizens  Panel  which  will  deliberate  and  address 
recommendations by 2027. 

Member States are encouraged to 

Further investigate the causes of fire to better understand the causes of ignition and the role 
of the population in them. 

Raise awareness among farmers and foresters about fire ignition risks and involve them 
in the development and the use of early fire-detection tools.  

Explore  innovative  awareness-raising  tools  targeting  children  and  young  people  (e.g. 
educational games, social media campaigns, integration of preparedness topics into school 
curricula  and  training  programmes  for  educators),  including  through  the  European  School 
Education Platform and the European Youth Portal and the Learning Portal. 

Step  up  the  collaboration  between  tourism  stakeholders,  farmers  and  foresters,  local 
authorities, and fire safety experts to make visitors more risk aware, in line with the priorities 
of the upcoming EU strategy for sustainable tourism. 

Support business continuity by promoting training for small and medium-sized enterprises 
(SMEs)  or  targeted  financial  assistance  following  disasters  and  ensure  that  insurance 
companies enable quick payment of claims for better business recovery after wildfire events.  

Ensure that information and tools for the public is accessible for persons with disabilities, 
facing discrimination, poverty and/or social exclusion, and older persons. 

Integrate wildfire risk considerations into building standards and spatial planning decisions in 
line with the New European Bauhaus. 

42 The project SparklePlay (https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/projects/sparklefire) will develop a set of 
serious games to raise awareness of wildfire risk and foster a culture of prevention and preparedness among end users. 
43 https://citizens.ec.europa.eu/online-debate-preparedness_en.    

10 

 
 
 
 
 
IV. Support for coordinated response 
With  wildfires  becoming  more  frequent,  difficult  to  control  and  extinguish,  suppression 
techniques and analytical capacities need to be improved. Some regions - especially those not 
yet prone to wildfires - lack qualified firefighters and experts44. Firefighters need adequate 
protection,  equipment,  training,  and  assets,  in  line  with  Occupational  Safety  and  Health 
standards45.  

Every  year,  professional  and  voluntary  firefighters  put  their  lives  in  danger  to  protect 
communities, providing invaluable service. In the framework of the Skills Portability initiative 
under the Union of Skills46, barriers and burdens to the free movement of workers, relating to 
qualifications  and  skills  within  the  EU,  will  be  addressed,  benefiting  all  mobile  workers, 
including firefighters.    

The hazardous nature of firefighting exposes firefighters to various health risks that can be 
mitigated through adequate training, appropriate protective equipment, and accessible health 
support, among others. Data should be gathered to foster a deeper understanding of the long-
term  health  effects  associated  with  firefighting  activities.  In  the  2021-2027  programming 
period,  Member  States  and  regions  can  use  cohesion  policy  funding  for  the  purchase  of 
equipment for civil protection units. Training and upskilling opportunities are eligible for EU 
funding under the European Social Fund Plus47.  

To  add  further  capacity  to  local  fire-fighting  teams,  since  2022,  the  Commission  has  been 
supporting the voluntary pre-positioning of firefighters from Member States and UCPM- 
Participating  States48  to  areas  with  extreme  fire  hazard.  This  has  ensured  that  support  is 
quickly  available  as  soon  as  fires  start.  The  initiative  also  gives  firefighting  teams  the 
opportunity  to  face  new  and  other  types  of  wildfires  and  learn  new  techniques.  Moreover, 
sharing  knowledge  and  experience  builds  trust  among  EU  and  UCPM  Participating  States’ 
firefighters.  For  the  countries  receiving  prepositioning  teams,  it  offers  additional  support, 
improves interoperability and boosts capacities for hosting firefighters from other countries.   

The Commission has supported and promoted the  exchange of experts for mutual learning 
across  the  EU  and  among  UCPM  Participating  States.  It  offers  effective,  recurrent,  and 
established support to evaluate potential gaps and implement new actions. The Commission 
will support the establishment of a  European firefighting hub in Cyprus that will host a 
centre of excellence focusing on capacity building, training, exercises, and seasonal readiness, 
relying  on  the  technical  expertise,  resources  and  projects49  of  the  EU  and  Southern 
Neighbourhood countries.  

44 https://www.epsu.org/article/firefighters-continue-face-workforce-
challengehttps://www.etuc.org/en/pressrelease/firefighters-cut-12-eu-countries-despite-rising-climate-risk 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20250826-
1#:~:text=%C2%A9%20Prath/Shutterstock.com,2022%20(%E2%82%AC37.4%20billion).  
45 Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety 
and health of workers at work, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex:31989L0391.  
46 COM(2025) 90 final of 5.3.2025.  
47 https://european-social-fund-plus.ec.europa.eu/en.  
48 Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye, and 
Ukraine. 
49 Such as the UCPM, Cohesion funds and the Prevention, Preparedness and Response to natural and man-made disasters in 
the EU Southern Neighbourhood countries (PPRD Mediterranean).  

11 

 
 
 
As a result of changing wildfire patterns, the scope and severity of wildfires are increasingly 
difficult  to  predict.  In  addition  to  early  warning  and  information  systems  (e.g.  EFFIS),  the 
European  Natural  Hazard  Scientific  Partnership  (ARISTOTLE-ENHSP)  provides  24/7 
scientific  support  to  the  EU’s  Emergency  Response  Coordination  Centre  (ERCC)  and  the 
UCPM. The  systematic  integration of fire behaviour analysts into operational  response 
structures remains uneven across Member States. Developing such expertise can help address 
this gap during large-scale wildfire events. The Commission therefore set up a specific wildfire 
support team in the Emergency Response Coordination Centre.  

To provide additional assets, the EU finances the stand-by availability of a firefighting fleet, 
which  is  continuously  reinforced  every  year.  To  that  end,  the  Commission  launches  yearly 
rescEU transition50 calls which are accompanied by aerial firefighting workshops on common 
European procedures to improve efficiency and safety of operations.  

Furthermore, the amount of assets under rescEU transition was doubled in 2023 to deal 
with more frequent and intense fires. For the future rescEU fleet, grants have been awarded 
to six Member States for the procurement of twelve medium amphibious planes, which will be 
available  gradually  as  of  2028,  and  to  three  Member  States  for  five  helicopters.  The 
Commission  also  engages  with  European  aircraft  programmes  fostering  Europe’s  strategic 
autonomy and the competitiveness of the European aerospace industry. 

Over the coming years, it will be important to maintain the current level of ambition under 
the  rescEU  transition  until  the  whole  of  the  rescEU  fleet  is  operational.  This  should  be 
accompanied by the possibility of procuring additional aircraft (including helicopters) in the 
coming years.  

Measures to support coordinated response 

The Commission will 

Assess, until 2028, in close coordination with Member States the EU’s future needs in the 
area of aerial firefighting with a view to strengthen EU capability and resilience in order to 
inform the possible procurement of additional rescEU assets under the new MFF. Evaluate and 
encourage  the  development  of  innovative  EU-based  technologies  contributing  to  the  EU 
strategic  autonomy  in  wildfire  prevention,  detection  and  response  capacities,  notably  by 
supporting startups and established companies in the entire investment journey. 

Strengthen the UCPM exchange of experts for integrated wildfire risk management through a 
twinning model in 2027.  

Encourage more firefighting pre-positioning teams in countries with extreme fire hazard. 

Establish a European firefighting hub in Cyprus that will host a centre of excellence.  

Launch a study by 2028 to promote the monitoring of firefighters exposure to wildfires and 
the possible resulting health impacts. 

50 https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/news/prolongation-resceu-transition-adopted.  

12 

 
 
 
Further develop  its  analytical  tools, including  in relation  to  AI-assisted wildfire modelling 
and decision support tools and encourage the incorporation of fire behaviour analysts into 
wildfire operations in support to the Member States. 

Member States are encouraged to 

Actively  share  best  practices  and  lessons  learned  which  could  be  facilitated  by  annual 
wildfire lessons-learnt meetings organised by the Commission under the UCPM. 

Make  good  use  of  prepositioning  or  exchange  of  experts  to  enable  exchange  of  good 
practice. 

Collect relevant data on firefighting staff and assess potential needs, taking due account of 
the  seasonal  nature  of  firefighting  activities,  with  a  view  to  ensuring  the  availability  of  an 
appropriately sized and well-prepared workforce. 

Provide safe and sustainable working conditions by taking the necessary measures to ensure 
a high level of protection of the health and safety of firefighters, including through adequate 
training, provision of appropriate protective equipment and accessible health support.  

Strengthen  the  coordination  between  governance  levels  for  an  optimal  situational 
awareness at the time of an acute emergency. 

Ensure the availability of sufficient aerial assets, including by making use of relevant EU 
funds. 

Commit  forest  firefighting  assets  to  the  European  Civil  Protection  Pool,  in  particular 
addressing the identified gap of firefighting helicopters. 

Improve the interoperability of firefighting equipment. 

V. Post-fire recovery  
V.I Support for recovery after fire 

Post-fire recovery activities need to ensure that the restored ecosystems and communities are 
resilient in the future, in line with the ‘build-back-better’ principle. Preventing repeated fires is 
key to  avoiding long-term  eco-system  degradation, including  soil erosion, biodiversity  loss, 
and reduced carbon storage capacity. The Commission will support land managers and owners 
by developing guidance on climate resilient landscapes later this year, which will focus on 
all aspects of the disaster risk reduction cycle, including prevention, mitigation,  restoration, 
post-fire recovery and learning.   

High-intensity wildfires alter the physical and chemical properties of the topsoil, which reduces 
water  infiltration  and  ground-cover  protection,  thus  exacerbating  soil  erosion.  Post-fire 
management of land, which fosters vegetation cover and prevents excessive runoff, is therefore 
crucial. To that end, EFFIS and the EU Soil Observatory are developing a specific module to 
monitor longer-term post fire vegetation recovery and soil erosion51. 

51 Vieira, D.C.S., Borrelli, P., Scarpa, S. et al. Global estimation of post-fire soil erosion. Nat. Geosci. 19, 59–67 (2026), 
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01876-0.  

13 

 
 
 
 
Dedicated EU funding is also needed for the recovery and restoration of affected areas. Under 
the  current  CAP  as  well  as  the  proposal  for  the  future  MFF52,  support  is  available  for 
investments in restoring the potential of forests and agricultural land after natural disasters or 
adverse climatic events. Similarly, cohesion policy allocates EUR 14.6 billion in the current 
programming  period  to  climate  adaptation  and  disaster  risk  management,  which  can  also 
address ecosystem restoration and nature-based interventions after wildfires. Cohesion policy 
had also introduced a mechanism53 which enabled Member States to rapidly mobilise funds to 
meet post-disaster restoration needs in the years 2024 and 2025. Lastly, the EU Solidarity Fund 
supports  Member  States  and  accession  countries  after  severe  natural  disasters  for  post-
disaster recovery. Recovery funding should be complemented by private funding, including 
insurance coverage for wildfire risks, the uptake of which could be incentivised. 

V.2 Put data on wildfire impacts to good use 

Incomplete  information  on  wildfire-related  fatalities,  building  losses,    environmental  and 
health costs, impacts on agriculture and forest ecosystems means that we cannot accurately 
assess the real costs of wildfires. This could lead to risk being underestimated in budgeting 
decisions or a danger of underinsurance against wildfire risk. Methodologies for economic 
loss assessment should therefore be improved and harmonised building on existing tools such 
as  the  Risk  Data  Hub54.  Member  States  should  be  supported  to  assess  the  fatalities  and 
economic impact of wildfires using harmonised methods. This data should then be used for 
future risk assessments.  

To  facilitate  the  exchange  of  good  practices  on  the  budgeting  the  cost  of  disasters,  the 
Commission published a report55 that outlines possible methodologies and a gradual approach 
for conducting assessments. The Commission also introduced new requirements for publishing 
information on the fiscal costs of natural disasters56.  

Measures to support post-fire recovery 

The Commission will 

Propose to support exchanges of best practices on post-fire recovery methods throughout 
2027. 

Develop guidelines to facilitate collection of harmonised post-fire data. 

Member States are encouraged to 

Collect additional cross-sectoral data to quantify the impacts of wildfires, supported by the 
guidelines on harmonised methods.   

52 Proposal for a Regulation establishing the European Fund for economic, social and territorial cohesion, agriculture and 
rural, fisheries and maritime, prosperity and security for the period 2028-2034. 
53 The Regional Emergency Support to Reconstruction Regulation, RESTORE, amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 and 
Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 applies to natural disasters occurring between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025. 
54 https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/risk-data-hub/#/.  
55 The report supports the implementation of the climate- and disaster-related amendments to Directive 2011/85/EU on 
National Budgetary Frameworks.  
56 Done through Directive 2024/1265/EU which introduced the new requirements in Directive 2011/85/EU.  

14 

 
 
 
 
VI. Strengthening the management of wildfire risk 
VI.1 Strengthening integrated wildfire risk management governance  

Truly  integrated  wildfire  risk  management  requires  governance  that  ensures  coordinated 
actions by all competent authorities, coherent policies and streamlined funding across various 
sectors, reflecting a whole-of-government approach. It similarly fosters an inclusive whole-
of-society approach which recognises the role of land managers, inhabitants, tourists etc. in 
managing wildfire risks57.   

The Commission is ready to assist and accompany Member States in the uptake of the support 
tools outlined in the chapters above. The Commission is already helping Member States and 
countries participating in the UCPM to improve their capacity and governance. For instance, 
the Commission developed a wildfire peer review assessment framework (PRAF)58 under 
the UCPM in cooperation with national experts to guide voluntary reviews of national wildfire 
risk  assessment  systems59.  The  UCPM  grants60  and  the  Technical Assistance  Financing 
Facility61  further  strengthen  capacity  building  efforts.  Similarly,  the  Technical  Support 
Instrument  has  supported  several  Member  States  and  regions62  in  assessing  current 
governance models, identifying gaps, and proposing recommendations for each stage of 
the wildfire management cycle, including based on the PRAF63.  

In  addition,  UCPM  countries  can  benefit  from  the  Union  Civil  Protection  Knowledge 
Network, a go-to hub for knowledge sharing on good practices in disaster risk management 
and for the latest updates on relevant wildfire projects, events, and trainings. 

Lastly,  the  Interreg  programmes  can  strengthen  coordination  and  action  in  disaster  risk 
management, including for wildfires, in shared border areas, both within the EU and with its 
neighbours64.  

VI.2 Integrated funding for wildfire risk management  

Integration  of  wildfire  risk  management  funding  offers  a  great  opportunity  for  cost-
effectiveness:  National  authorities  can  significantly  mitigate  wildfire  losses  and  associated 
costs in the future if they proactively invest into fire-resilient landscapes and vibrant rural areas, 
wildfire prevention and population awareness.   

57 Recent studies confirm the urgent need for better institutional capacity building, see for example 
https://easac.eu/publications/details/changing-wildfires, https://www.gfdrr.org/en/publication/management-wildfire-risk-
european-union. 
58 Casartelli V, Mysiak J (2023). Union Civil Protection Mechanism - Peer Review Programme for disaster risk management: 
Wildfire Peer Review Assessment Framework. https://doi.org/10.25424/CMCC-6A3V-5G64.  
59 To date, Greece, Italy and the Land of Brandenburg (Germany) received recommendations for strengthening wildfire 
resilience and shared their good practices. 
60 Technical Assistance for Disaster Risk Management and the Knowledge for Action in Prevention and Preparedness grants.  
61 https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/technical-assistance-financing-facility-taff.  
62 Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, the Free State of Saxony (Germany) and Slovenia.  
63 In Greece, the technical support aims to (i) improve the coordination and stakeholder consultation mechanism on 
emergency preparedness and response, and (ii) develop and operationalise a unified single civil protection mechanism. 
64 Joint projects under the “Better cooperation governance” Interreg specific objective. Legal and administrative cross-border 
obstacles related to disaster risk management can be addressed through the BRIDGEforEU, Regulation (EU) 2025/925. 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The  EU  provides  a  range  of  funding  instruments  to  support  activities from  prevention  to 
response and recovery. In the current funding period65, some Member States are already using 
these resources, including  EUR 2.3 billion allocated under  cohesion  policy funds, EUR  2.2 
billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility and over EUR 1 billion under the European 
Agricultural Fund for Rural Development66.   

To promote awareness of the funding options and their uptake, the Commission’s web platform 
of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network offers an overview of the EU tools and 
resources  for  investments  in  disaster  risk  reduction. The  platform  will  be  further  enhanced 
with  ideas  for  smart  investments  in  wildfire  risk  management,  and  the  Commission  will 
promote it in its relevant expert groups and across other platforms.  

Understanding how the different resources are allocated to the respective stages of the wildfire 
risk management cycle is crucial for ensuring funding is effective. With the proposal for the 
2028-2034  MFF67  the  Commission  aims  to  improve  tracking  of  funding  related  to  wildfire 
prevention and suppression across all EU budget programmes68.  The Commission proposed a 
horizontal  35%  spending  target  for  climate  and  environment  and  to  streamline  the  ‘do  no 
significant  harm’  principle  across  all  EU  funding  instruments.  The  Commission  will  also 
streamline the development and implementation of integrated wildfire risk management 
in its guidance for Member States, with a focus on prevention measures and ‘resilience and 
preparedness  by design’, that aims  to  embed resilience and preparedness  across  the future 
instruments, in particular the next MFF, while progress in implementing structural reforms 
that are also relevant for preparedness will be assessed in the European Semester.   

At national level, information on public expenditures and investment planning for wildfire risk 
management  is  limited,  and  it  remains  uncertain  whether  funding  is  sustainable.  The 
Commission and the World Bank have published analytical papers on a structured approach 
to disaster risk financing69 that can help Member States review, plan for and manage the fiscal 
costs of disasters70. Wildfire detection and warning tools can generate returns up to 39 times 
their costs because they enable faster response and prevent devastation71. 

Market-based funding mechanisms that mobilise investments into nature positive actions, such 
as payments for ecosystem services schemes72, carbon removal credits and emerging nature 
credit approaches, can help mobilise private funding.   

65 2021-2027 for Cohesion Policy, 2020-2026 for the Recovery and Resilience Facility and 2023-2027 for the EAFRD. 
66 This amount is for forestry only. It does not include the amount dedicated to agriculture, e.g. income support and agri-
environmental climate interventions.  
67 Specifically, within the proposal for Regulation establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework 
and other horizontal rules for the Union programmes and activities.  
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52025PC0545.  
68 Allow tracking EU budget support related to 1) prevention and restoration of damage to forests, 2) prevention measures to 
mitigate the risk of forest fires, and 3) emergency aircraft, including aerial firefighting. Tracking through indicators, e.g. the 
area of forest protected with prevention measures, the population benefitting from measures, and the number of new aircraft. 
This includes at least 43% of the national and regional partnership plans and of the European Competitiveness Fund. 
69 World Bank. 2025. Public Expenditure Review for Wildfire Management: A Guide.  
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/5fddca5c-27f8-4a12-a3f3-cf9f332feac6.  
70 World Bank. 2021. Investment in Disaster Risk Management in Europe Makes Economic Sense. Economics for Disaster 
Prevention and Preparedness.   
71 World Bank, 2024, From Data to Decisions, 
https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099050224072033005/pdf/P17907015a302401f1b7e51fc14ed9b73ef.pdf, p. 
27. 
72 Guidance on the Development of Public and Private Payment Schemes for Forest Ecosystem Services.  

16 

 
 
 
Moreover,  differentiated  insurance  premiums  rewarding  adaptation  measures  could 
incentivise investments in prevention and preparedness measures that protect homes, farms, 
SMEs and critical infrastructure. Incentivising uptake of private insurance covering wildfire 
risks and other climate risks would reduce economic losses and fiscal pressure from disasters 
and support recovery. Most countries in the EU do not require mandatory insurance coverage 
for  natural  catastrophes73.  Moreover,  insurance  models  vary  widely  across  countries,  from 
national systems to semi-voluntary schemes to risk-based premium voluntary systems74. 

Addressing  challenges  related  to  the  affordability  and  insurability  of  climate-related  risks, 
requires coordinated action by multiple stakeholders, in particular public authorities75. In some 
cases, meeting these challenges may also require mechanisms to share risk between economic 
actors, including through public–private partnerships. In this regard, market-based solutions 
can also help spread the risk among a wider variety of actors. At the same time, the insurance 
and reinsurance sectors should continue to innovate and develop solutions that make coverage 
more  accessible  and  attractive  to  customers.  Insurers  have  an  important  role  to  play  in 
increasing transparency on coverage and exclusions; and raising policyholders’ risk awareness. 
Lastly,  policyholders  themselves  can  contribute  to  loss  prevention  by  implementing 
measures to reduce their exposure and vulnerability. Member States could also reinforce 
support  for  business  continuity,  including  training  for  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises 
(SMEs) or targeted financial assistance following disasters. 

Measures to strengthen the management of wildfire risk 

The Commission will 

Present a proposal for a Council Recommendation on integrated wildfire risk management. 

Develop guidance and a portal on integrated wildfire risk management by 2027 in close 
cooperation  with  Member  States,  and  continuously  update  information  on  funding 
opportunities, while sharing lessons learnt and supporting relevant authorities managing 
the funds.  

Ensure coordinated action of the different EU expert groups working on wildfires.  

Update  the  wildfire  peer  review  assessment  framework  in  2027  and  continue  support 
through peer reviews and capacity-building tools during the current MFF. 

Accelerate  innovation  procurement  of  wildfire  preparedness  technologies  and  support 
inter-  and  transdisciplinary  methodologies  of  disaster  risk  management  and  climate  change 
adaptation communities. 

Launch a dialogue with research and innovation organisations, Member States and the private 
sector in 2026 to review economic incentives for wildfire risk management. 

73 https://www.eiopa.europa.eu/tools-and-data/dashboard-insurance-protection-gap-natural-catastrophes_en.  
74 https://www.eiopa.europa.eu/system/files/2022-05/discussion_paper_on_physical_climate_change_risks.pdf p.21. 
75 As highlighted in the final report of the Climate Resilience Dialogue 
https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/download/4df5c2fe-80f9-4ddc-8199-
37eee83e04e4_en?filename=policy_adaptation_climate_resilience_dialogue_report_en.pdf.  

17 

 
 
 
 
 
Member States are encouraged to 

Ensure adequate strategic long-term funding across the full wildfire risk management cycle, 
taking into account the future guidance on integrated wildfire risk management. 

Develop  national  or  sub-national  wildfire  risk  management  strategies  and  action  plans, 
taking  a  whole-of-society  and  whole-of-government  approach,  and  relying  on  updated  risk 
assessments.  

Take  up  new  technologies  and  innovations  developed  under  Horizon  Europe  and 
operationalise them via capacity building grants under relevant EU programmes to increase 
effectiveness. 

Make  full  use  of  the  support  provided  through  the  EU  Mission  on Adaptation  to  Climate 
Change under Horizon Europe, including successful solutions and tools to strengthen early 
warning systems, forest management, and community preparedness against wildfires. 

VII. International engagement  
Europe is not the only continent that has been facing increasingly devastating wildfires over 
the last few years as demonstrated by recent mega-fires in Australia, Canada, Chile  and the 
United States. The number of people living in wildfire-prone areas has grown by about 40% 
over the past two decades and the areas with the highest percentage of land lost due to wildfires 
are  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  particularly  in  Africa76.  This  has  spurred  discussions  and 
research at global level on the benefits of an integrated approach to wildfire risk management. 
In  2025,  the  EU  supported  several  international  calls  for  reinforced  global  cooperation  on 
wildfire risk management77.  

The EU will continue its engagement in international and regional initiatives78 including the 
FAO-UNEP Global Fire Hub, to strengthen and promote the global knowledge exchange on 
IWRM, including on innovative firefighting techniques and tools, with wildfire-prone regions 
(such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile, and Brazil), paying particular attention to 
fragile  and  conflict  affected  contexts.  In  order  to  promote  standardised  information  and 
international wildfire monitoring, the EU will further develop and promote the use of GWIS. 
The  EU  is  continuing  its  cooperation  with  EU  accession  countries  and  its  immediate 
neighbours  to  reinforce  regional  resilience.  It  will  strengthen  its  engagement  with  the 
Western Balkans to align policy tools, and foster exchanges, and joint risk assessment to pre-
empt cross-border fires and strengthen collective response and preparedness. This is to respond 
to the increase in the activations of the UCPM for wildfires by the Western Balkans79 in recent 

76 UNDRR, The invisible costs of wildfires, https://www.undrr.org/news/invisible-costs-wildfire-disasters-2025 . 
77 In particular the G7 Kananaskis Wildfire Charter, the COP30 Call to Action on Integrated Fire Management and Wildfire 
Resilience and the seventh United Nations Environmental Assembly Resolution on strengthening the global management of 
wildfires. 
78 Other initiatives include wildfire earth observation groups: the Committee of Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), the 
Group of Earth Observations (GEO), the Global Observation of Forest Cover and Land Use Dynamic (GOFC–GOLD) Fire 
Implementation Team; Group of Experts on Forest Fires of Latin America and The Caribbean (GEFF - LAC), and the World 
Fire Congress. 
79 European Commission: Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), UCPM and CEMS activations to wildfires in 
2025, December 2025,  https://erccportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ECHO-Products/Maps#/maps/5526 : Albania (3), North 
Macedonia (3), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2), Montenegro (1). 

18 

 
 
 
 
years. Funding for these actions is currently provided through the  regional civil protection 
programmes financed under the UCPM.  

EU candidate countries and potential candidates must improve their capacity for disaster risk 
management as part of the EU accession process and are supported by the Instrument for Pre-
Accession  Assistance  (IPA)  and  the  Neighbourhood,  Development  and  International 
Cooperation instrument - Global Europe80. To foster collaboration with partner countries in the 
Mediterranean region, the Pact for the Mediterranean81 identifies wildfire preparedness, 
civil  protection  and  multi-hazard  preparedness  and  response  as  key  priorities  with  high 
potential for cooperation between the EU and the countries of the Southern Neighbourhood. In 
this  respect,  the  new  European  Firefighting  Hub  based  in  Cyprus  will  further  strengthen 
regional cooperation.   

Measures to support international engagement 

The Commission will: 

Foster  the  exchange  of  experiences  with  other  wildfire-prone  regions  through  its 
participation in various international fora and other initiatives. 

Step up outreach at political level and strengthen the participation of the Western Balkans 
on civil protection, and in particular on integrated wildfire risk management.  

Step  up  cooperation  with  Southern  Neighbourhood  partners  on  common  actions  to 
improve  regional  preparedness  and  strengthen  response  capabilities  across  the  Common 
Mediterranean Space through an all-hazards approach. 

Collaborate  closely  with  Forest  Europe  and  its  newly  established  Forest  Risk  Facility 
(FoRISK)82 to promote capacity building and knowledge exchange on fire prevention. 

Encourage the  implementation  of  the agri-environment-climate measure  and the measure to 
establish and protect forests by the relevant beneficiaries of EU pre-accession assistance for 
rural development (IPARD).  

Conclusions and way forward  
Resilience requires strengthening the disaster risk management cycle as a whole: prevention, 
preparedness,  response,  and  post-fire  recovery.  All  these  steps  need  to  be  linked  and 
addressed in a holistic way.  

The Commission is ready to prioritise funding under the new MFF to reduce wildfire risk, but 
success  depends  on action at  national  and local level. The Commission  therefore  invites all 
stakeholders to work together to promote and implement integrated wildfire risk management 
in the EU and abroad.  

The  Commission  will  regularly  assess  progress  in  the  implementation  of  the  actions 
outlined in this Communication together with Member States and relevant stakeholders. By 

80 https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/new-%E2%80%98ndici-global-europe%E2%80%99-2021-2027_en.  
81 JOIN(2025) 26 final. 
82 The FoRISK’s objective is to enhance the resilience of forests by supporting disaster risk management within the 
framework of sustainable forest management, including through training and sharing of best practices.  

19 

 
 
 
 
strengthening  prevention,  building  resilient  landscapes  and  improving  preparedness  and 
response,  Europe  can  better  protect  its  people,  ecosystems  and  rural  economies  from  the 
growing risk of wildfires. 

20