Published on 03/08/2026 – 9:30 GMT+2 The EU has mobilised its largest-ever wildfire response as France, Spain, Greece and Italy battle major blazes this summer. This emergency has reopened a familiar debate: should Brussels spend more on fighting fires, or on stopping them before they start? The EU’s current toolkit spans several layers. On the emergency side, rescEU maintains firefighting planes and helicopters, backed by 777 pre-positioned firefighters from 14 countries and a new aerial hub in Cyprus. The Emergency Response Coordination Centre matches these assets to countries under pressure in real time. On the monitoring side, Copernicus satellites map…