The Republic of Moldova is once again 1 contributing to wildfire response efforts in Greece under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). While supporting the host country during the wildfire season, the deployment also provides valuable operational experience that will help strengthen disaster preparedness and resilience in Moldova.
For the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (GS), the mission reflects the country's growing role within the European civil protection community. Since becoming a Participating State of the UCPM in January 2024, Moldova has progressively expanded its operational contribution, with the current deployment representing its fourth wildfire mission in Greece and its third as a full Participating State in the Mechanism.
In an interview with Mr. Davide Miozzo, Programme Manager of PPRD East 4 at CIMA Research Foundation, Mr. Aurel Baciu, Head of IGSU and PPRD East 4 National Chair, reflected on the significance of the deployment for Moldova's civil protection system and its growing contribution to European emergency response.
"This mission demonstrates the Republic of Moldova's transition from being primarily a beneficiary of international assistance to becoming a reliable contributor to Europe's civil protection response efforts," says Mr. Baciu. This mission is not an isolated initiative, but part of Moldova's progressive integration into the European civil protection community.
According to Mr. Baciu, repeated participation in international deployments demonstrates the development of a sustainable operational capacity. Beyond supporting communities affected by wildfires, these missions enable Moldovan responders to strengthen operational experience, reinforce international partnerships and continue building national resilience.
The deployment has also demonstrated IGSU’s ability to plan and sustain the cross-border deployment of personnel and equipment, maintain a specialised module outside the national territory, operate within the host country’s command and coordination structures, and comply with European requirements for coordination, safety, logistics and reporting.[SM1]
Currently deployed in the Thessaloniki region under the UCPM pre-positioning programme, the Moldovan MD-GFFF-V module 2 consists of 24 firefighters and 7 response vehicles. Depending on operational needs identified by the Hellenic Fire Corps, the team carries out preventive patrols, remains on operational standby or responds to active wildfires, according to the level of fire danger and ongoing incidents.
Interviewed in his capacity as PPRD East 4 National Focal Point and IGSU representative currently deployed in Greece, Mr Serghei Puiu, highlights the importance of interoperability.
"The main advantage of pre-positioning lies in the speed of response. As the module is already present in the host country and familiar with local procedures, it can transition from operational readiness to active deployment without the delays associated with a full-scale international mobilisation."
Within the UCPM, the ERCC provides the overall framework for European coordination, information exchange, monitoring and reporting, while tactical command at incident sites remains the responsibility of the host country. Liaison officers play an essential role in connecting these different levels and ensuring the rapid and accurate transmission of instructions, situational updates, and logistical requirements.
Working within common operational procedures and alongside the Greek authorities provides valuable opportunities to strengthen interoperability with European partners.
This collaboration has also reinforced the value of common procedures, clear communication, liaison arrangements, and daily joint training. These elements, together with compatible equipment and established coordination mechanisms, enable teams from different countries to operate effectively as a single response system.
The experience gained in Greece will contribute to future PPRD East 4 activities, informing training, updated procedures and exercises aimed at strengthening wildfire prevention, preparedness and response capacities in Moldova. Key lessons include the use of meteorological data for preventive actions, stronger coordination and communication, and improved evaluation of operations.
These lessons will also be shared through PPRD East 4 regional peer-learning and lessons-learned activities, creating opportunities for partner countries to exchange operational experience, discuss common challenges and identify practices that can be adapted to their own national contexts.
Rather than replicating operational models from other countries, the programme will support each country in translating this knowledge into solutions tailored to its specific risk profile, while also helping test the entire operational chain, from early warning to early action, and identify procedural or capacity-related gaps before they emerge during a real emergency. This process will involve not only IGSU, but also public authorities, emergency services, scientific institutions, and volunteer organizations.
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1 Moldova deployed wildfire response teams to Greece in 2022, 2023 (twice) and 2025. The current deployment is the country's fourth wildfire mission in Greece and its third since becoming a Participating State of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) in January 2024.
2 MD-GFFF-V refers to Moldova's Ground Forest Fire Fighting using Vehicles module, certified under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) for international wildfire response operations.
