EU Mulls Natural Disaster Force

The European Commission will put forward proposals this autumn for a standing Eu force to respond to fires, floods, and other major emergencies. The commission says the current system has its limits. In 2007, there has been flooding in the UK, a heat wave in central and southern Europe, and now forest fires in Greece, in which at least 60 people have died. But critics say the EU should release finances and faster, rather than set up a civil protection force of its own.