When talking about fires we typically imagine a terrifying and catastrophic event. But the use of controlled fires is once again becoming common practice in Europe: together with livestock grazing, it is looking like an essential and economical technique that can prevent genuinely catastrophic fires.
The distribution of European Union resources to member states is bound to deadlines established in national recovery and resilience plans, among other things.
By aligning itself with the recommendations of the car industry when adopting new emission standards, the European Union could be caving in to the industry lobby at the expense of taxpayers' money and citizens' health, according to confidential documents obtained by Voxeurop.
The Croatian government has announced its intention to recognise feminicide as a distinct type of crime. An important novelty - but a much broader social change is needed, warn those fighting for women's rights.
Portugal is Europe's third largest producer of wood pulp, an industry that relies heavily on the eucalyptus tree. In 2017, a devastating fire in Pedrogrão Grande ignited a debate on the industry's responsibility to prevent such disasters. In particular, the issue of biodiversity was brought back to centre stage. Reportage.
The high number of highly flammable spruce monocultures in Czechia is mainly due to conservative forestry and poorly framed legislation. But while the climate is already shifting, the laws that are holding back forest conversion have remained unchanged on the books for decades.
Despite decades of targeted financial support, the differences in training and equipment across Europe make cooperation challenging and often inefficient.
A new EU agricultural policy has brought a qualitative change in forest-fire protection. Governments will now spend twice as much as before on measures such as reforestation to reduce soil drying.
Fires destroy ecosystems, and the harm is multiplied when protected areas are involved. More than a quarter of all Natura 2000 sites burned in 2021 were located in Italy.
A little-known effect of wildfires is that they weaken the soil, leaving it more vulnerable to rain-related disasters. It is a vicious circle for a country like Italy, which is exposed to both.
