Law no. 5281 of 2026. Active battle: Comprehensive reform of the system of prevention, preparedness and response to forest fires and other natural, technological or man-made disasters - Provision of mechanisms for drawing operational lessons - Strengthening the Directorate for Combating Arson Crimes - Upgrading the Fire Academy - Regulations on matters of competence of the General Secretariat for Disaster Recovery and State Aid and other provisions - Amendments to Law 4662/2020, Law 4555/2018, Law 4797/2021 and Law 5116/2024.

This Law, consisting of 149 articles, provides for: a comprehensive reform of the system of prevention, preparedness and response to forest fires and other natural, technological or man-made disasters; the collection, management, updating and secure disposal of the contact details of persons involved in the National Crisis Management and Risk Response Mechanism; ensuring a unified and reliable operational activity by the competent bodies of the National Crisis Management and Risk Management Mechanism, covering at all stages of risk management, through the establishment and functional interconnection of the Operational Incident Centres (OIC) with the other structures and bodies of the National Civil Protection Mechanism, and in particular with the National Coordination Center for Operations and Crisis Management (ECMC); the application of the principle of multi-level governance in civil protection, through the clear delimitation of the role of the Autonomous Directorates and the Autonomous Civil Protection Departments; the consolidation of institutional accountability and organizational-operational learning from major catastrophic events; the formulation of a unified and coherent medium-long-term strategic goal-setting for the integrated management of forest fires, with the aim of systematically strengthening prevention, operational preparedness, effective response and recovery, through the establishment of a ten-year Strategic Plan for Integrated Forest Fire Management; strengthening the knowledge base and evidence-based decision-making through a National Database of Risks, Threats and Disaster Losses in the Government Cloud; establishing prevention management tools; improving scientific support of the operational framework, by strengthening forecasting capabilities; strengthening supporting research, ethics and funding structures of Fire Academy; ensuring the continuous updating, coherence and effective implementation of regional and local civil protection plans.
The Law concerns the following matters: multilevel cooperation of the National Crisis Management and Risk Management Mechanism; establishment of a Flood Risk Assessment Subcommittee; establishment of an Annual Firefighting Period Report Committee for the preparation of a firefighting period report; strengthening the National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy; preparation of a Plan for Integrated Forest Fire Management; updating of the Regional Emergency Response and Consequence Management Plan; preparation of Special Fire Prevention Plans; flood and erosion protection works; measures for combating arson crimes; preventive fire protection measures and management measures for prevention or suppression of forest fires, including improvement of habitats and grazing lands, protection of biodiversity; control of grazing to prevent forest fires.