European Commission 'Proud' of Bulgarian Firefighters in Russia

Bulgarian EU Commissioner Georgieva (left) is welcomed by Bulgarian firemen; Interior Minister Tsvetanov is in the background. Photo by BGNES

EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva has met with the 95 Bulgarian firefighters who took part in the extinguishing of the forest fires in Russia over the summer.

"I am very proud that I am the EU Commissioner who represents you. I am even more proud that Bulgarians are so professional," Georgieva told the firefighters.

According to the EU Commissioner for humanitarian aid, crisis response, and international cooperation, the increase of the number and scope of natural disasters globally is due to four major factors: climate change, population growth, economy, and terrorism.

In her words, the number of natural disasters swelled 5 times since 1975 affecting an average of 230 million people annually.

Georgiva announced that the new policy of the EU for fighting disasters will be ready by the end of 2010. It will focus on outlining possible scenarios in the event of natural calamities, and will include a review of the resources that each member state can provide when necessary; it will also prioritize on prevention.

She urged the Bulgarian government to seek EU funding for firefighting and safety equipment.

"The government is doing everything possible to provide modern equipment and good training," stated in turn Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, who accompanied Georgieva. He promised that his ministry is doing everything to possible to resolve a court dispute over the procurement of 42 firefighting trucks with EU funds.

"The European Commission is now proud of the way Bulgarian firefighters helped tackle the Russian fires," Tsvetanov declared.

The head of the Bulgarian firefighting squad in Russia, Valentin Angelov, gave an account of the actions of the firemen in the Moscow region on Aug 6-20, 2010.

He said the toughest job was to put out the fires on the turf fields, and that to do that the Bulgarian team had to dig tunnels of up to 10-12 m in depth. The firemen toiled for 12 hours a day.

The Bulgarian firefighters came back from Russia with medals, countless letters of gratitude and other awards.

Sunday's meeting of Commissioner Georgieva with the firemen was marked by a funny slip of tongue when the head of the Firefighting Directorate presented "Deputy Prime Minister Kristalina Georgieva" after which Tsvetanov came to the tribune.

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