BRUSSELS, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- In face of the raging forest fires in Greece, the European Union (EU) has increased its assistance to the country over the weekend, the European Commission said in a press release Monday.

    Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for Environment and Civil Protection, said: "The forest fires near Athens are creating an ecological disaster. It is imperative to bring them under control as quickly as possible."

    "The assistance offered by EU Member States via the Civil Protection Mechanism shows the strength of European solidarity in the face of such disasters," Dimas said.

    "It is a practical example of European added value in responding to natural disasters like forest fires," the commissioner said.

    Greece requested assistance in dealing with the forest fires in the Athens area on Saturday. The situation remains extremely difficult, with the fires fuelled by high temperatures and strong winds. A number of residential areas have had to be evacuated.

    According to the European Commission, the intervention in Greece is the biggest Civil Protection Mechanism operation in 2009to date. A total of eight planes and one helicopter are assisting Greece.

    Italy, France, Spain and Cyprus offered help in response to Greece's request.

    In addition, the EU forest fire tactical reserve is being deployed to fill gaps in aerial fire-fighting capacity. All aerial fire-fighting capacity that was offered and accepted is either still in use or expected to arrive later on Monday.