LISBON, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro announced Friday that Portugal will activate the European Civil Protection Mechanism and bilateral cooperation agreements with Spain and Morocco in response to an extreme heat wave that is driving severe wildfire risk across the country.
"We decided, at this point, to activate the European Civil Protection Mechanism and also the bilateral agreements with Spain and Morocco," Montenegro said, stressing that the move was precautionary and that national capacity had not yet been exhausted.
He said that the goal was to avoid transferring firefighting assets between regions, citing a "significant deterioration in rural fire risk."
Twelve of Portugal's 18 mainland districts are currently under red alert due to extreme heat, with virtually the entire continental territory under elevated wildfire risk.
The European Civil Protection Mechanism allows EU member states and other participating countries to request international assistance when national resources are insufficient or when they wish to reinforce response capacity preventively. ■