European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib is paying a visit to Bucharest on Thursday, occasion on which she will meet President Nicusor Dan and interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.
The European official will also meet Secretary of State with the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) and head of the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU) Raed Arafat.
On this occasion, at the headquarters of the General Inspectorate of Aviation (IGAv) of the MAI, the European Commissioner will be presented with the land and air emergency response capabilities acquired with European funds. These include fire engines and other specialised emergency response vehicles, as well as helicopters, including the helicopter acquired as part of the permanent rescEU fleet, the DSU informed.
Hadja Lahbib will also meet the firefighters who participated in operations to combat wildfires under the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.
Subsequently, the European official and the DSU head will hold a press conference.
According to the European Commission, the visit of the European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management comes as Romania has played an important role this year in the European response to wildfires. Romania sent firefighting teams to France, Greece and Serbia. In August, Romania also sent a new rescEU helicopter to Serbia, the first aircraft delivered for the permanent European fleet.
The visit aims to reaffirm the European Union's commitment to promoting equality and fundamental rights as essential elements in building more resilient, democratic and inclusive societies across the entire Europe.
Within the visit to Romania, discussions will focus on the country's important contribution to European preparedness and civil protection, as well as on challenges related to equality and non-discrimination.
On Friday, the European official will travel to Chisinau, where the agenda will have two main components - European support for crisis management and civil protection, and equality and non-discrimination in the context of the Republic of Moldova's European path.
