Christos Stylianides

European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said Tuesday that Brussels was mobilizing its rescEU mechanism to respond to Greece's activation of the European Civil Protection Mechanism in response to the wildfires raging in the country.
"The EU stands by Greece at this difficult time," Stylianides tweeted.

Speaking nearly a year after the deadly wildfires in the seaside resort of Mati, east of Athens, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis heralded the restructuring of the country's civil protection mechanism, while promising that the 112 emergency telephone number will be operational by the end of the year.

Greek government officials were scheduled to meet in Athens on Friday with visiting European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides on improving protection against natural disasters and in particular wildfires.

European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides arrived on Wednesday in Athens, where he is due to give a presentation on "rescEU" proposal.

A report presented today jointly by the European Union, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) finds that around 113 million people in 53 countries experienced acute food insecurity in 2018, compared to 124 million in 2017. 

On Saturday European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides will visit the ACS Athens campus to observe the school's Youth-to-Youth educational and social integration program in action, meet with young refugees and talk to volunteer teachers and ACS students.

The large number of victims resulting from the deadly blaze that devastated Attica's eastern coast this week "may indicate gaps prevention and preparedness," European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides told Kathimerini in an interview published on Sunday.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras held a meeting with European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides in Athens on Wednesday to discuss ways to coordinate EU aid to tackle the devastation caused by the fires in Attica, that have left at least 80 people dead.

Greece's public order minister has said Italy is dispatching two Canadair firefighting planes and Romania is sending a third aircraft to help combat wildfires near the Greek capital that have claimed the lives of at least 74 people.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker wrote to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday to express his condolences for the loss of life from a devastating wildfire in eastern Attica.

It is with a heavy heart that I have learnt that many people have tragically lost their lives in devastating fires in Athens, Greece," Juncker wrote.