NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The European Commission will propose setting up a regional firefighting hub based in Cyprus that could also assist Middle East countries in battling major wildfires, the head of the bloc’s executive arm said Wednesday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in her annual address to the European Parliament that it was necessary to “give ourselves the tools” to combat wildfires made worse by climate change as summers become “hotter, harsher and more dangerous.”

“This summer, we all saw the pictures of Europe’s forests and villages on fire,” Von der Leyen said. “More than a million hectares were burned. … The scale of the damage is enormous. And we know it is not a one-off.”

The announcement comes as reports have suggested that climate change worsene

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