In response to the wildfires that have swept across Europe in recent weeks, ALDE Party President Svenja Hahn and LYMEC President Ines Holzegger issued jointly the following statement:
Devastating wildfires have swept across Europe: from the Scottish Highlands to the Mediterranean and the heart of the Western Balkans. Entire communities have been displaced, natural habitats destroyed, and livelihoods shattered. While some regions are better equipped to respond, others suffer more due to weaker infrastructure and limited preparedness. Today, our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones, those forced to leave everything behind, and with the communities whose future now depends on urgent help and solidarity. We are not looking away from their suffering.
This is not a localised crisis. It is a European-wide emergency. When one part of our continent burns, we must all feel the urgency to act. We call on the European Union to stand united and deliver faster, more coordinated assistance to countries in urgent need of resources, expertise, and personnel.
The reality is clear: soaring summer temperatures, prolonged droughts, and increasingly extreme weather events are no coincidence. Climate change is here, and it is accelerating. Wildfires are no longer seasonal anomalies; they are becoming a recurring threat. We are entering an era where every summer brings record-breaking heat, uncontrollable fires, and mass displacement.
The scale and intensity of this year’s wildfires are a warning of what is to come if Europe fails to act. Europe cannot treat this as an annual inevitability, we must break the cycle now.
As liberals, we believe Europe must not only extinguish the flames of today but prevent them from sparking. That means investing heavily in prevention and preparedness, ensuring collective resilience, and accelerating the transition towards climate neutrality.