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Brussels coordinates additional rescue flights under rescEU mechanism, bringing the total number of Europeans repatriated to more than 8,000
The European Commission has evacuated another 303 European Union citizens from the Middle East as part of ongoing emergency operations launched in response to the latest escalation of violence in the region.
Two evacuation flights departed on March 12 from Oman and Saudi Arabia and landed in Warsaw, Poland, bringing home hundreds of Europeans who had been stranded following the deterioration of the security situation. The operation was coordinated and financed by the European Commission through the EU’s rescEU system, a reinforced component of the Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism designed to support member states during major crises.
The announcement was made by Hadja Lahbib, the European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, who stressed that the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) remains fully mobilized.
“The ERCC is in full action to enable the European Union to step in when challenges are too large for individual countries to handle alone,” Lahbib said while presenting the latest evacuation effort.
The two flights were organized at the request of Poland, which activated the rescEU mechanism to assist its nationals and other European citizens trapped in the region. Of the 303 passengers transported back to Europe, 227 were Polish citizens, with the remaining seats allocated to nationals from other EU member states who were unable to secure safe travel arrangements amid the rapidly worsening crisis.
Under the rescEU framework, the European Commission can directly mobilize transportation resources and cover 100 percent of the costs associated with emergency missions. The system is intended to complement the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, allowing Brussels to intervene more quickly and efficiently during large-scale emergencies that overwhelm national capacities.
The latest evacuation follows a similar operation earlier this week. On March 9, Romania requested the activation of rescEU to repatriate its citizens from the region, illustrating how the mechanism is increasingly being used to coordinate European responses to sudden international crises.
When the latest wave of violence erupted in the Middle East, hundreds of thousands of European citizens were believed to be present across the region, many of them tourists, expatriates, or business travelers. French, German, and Italian nationals represented a significant share of those initially stranded as commercial travel routes became disrupted or temporarily suspended.
Since the beginning of the crisis, the European Union has launched an extensive evacuation effort. According to Commissioner Lahbib, more than 70 repatriation flights have already been organized with the support of EU institutions and member states.
“Thanks to over seventy EU repatriation flights, more than 8,000 people have already returned home safe and sound,” Lahbib said, highlighting the scale of the operation carried out in cooperation with national authorities.
The evacuations demonstrate the increasingly central role played by the European Union in coordinating crisis responses that affect multiple member states simultaneously. While consular protection traditionally falls within the responsibility of individual governments, large-scale emergencies often require broader coordination to ensure that European citizens can be brought home safely and efficiently.
Officials in Brussels emphasized that the situation in the Middle East remains highly volatile and that evacuation operations may continue in the coming days. The European Commission has received requests for assistance from 23 EU member states seeking support in repatriating their nationals from the affected areas.
Further flights are therefore expected to be organized as authorities work to respond to the remaining evacuation needs. The ERCC, which operates around the clock, continues to monitor developments closely and coordinate logistics between European institutions and national governments.
The crisis has once again highlighted the importance of joint European mechanisms for disaster response and emergency management. Tools such as rescEU were created to ensure that the Union can act collectively when individual states face challenges that exceed their capabilities.
By pooling resources and coordinating operations at the European level, Brussels aims to strengthen the EU’s ability to respond swiftly to humanitarian emergencies, natural disasters, and geopolitical crises that place citizens at risk abroad.
For the thousands of Europeans who have already returned home, the coordinated effort has provided a crucial lifeline during a moment of heightened uncertainty. As tensions in the Middle East continue to evolve, European authorities remain focused on ensuring that all citizens who wish to leave the region can do so safely and without delay.
Alessandro Fiorentino