EU to Promote Standardised Emergency Phone Number

The European Commission has stepped up its efforts to promote the use of the Pan-European emergency number 112 within the EU. This February, the Commission also asked national authorities to improve public awareness of 112, after a survey showed that only 22% of EU citizens know they can call 112 throughout Europe in an emergency.

"The millions of EU citizens going on holidays this summer only need to remember one emergency number: 112," said EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding. "While 112 is now available in all but one country across the EU, I call on Member States to make 112 better known and more effective. All EU citizens should know they can dial 112 to reach emergency services. I especially urge those Member States yet to introduce caller location, which helps emergency services find accident victims, to do so for all 112 calls as soon as possible. I am also counting on rapid action from the Bulgarian authorities to finally make 112 available nationwide."

The EU noted that 112 emergency call centres can normally handle English calls in 16 countries (Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden). 7 countries said their call centres can answer in the language of a bordering Member State (Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Spain, Lithuania, Hungary, and Slovenia). Several countries have special arrangements allowing call centres to answer in other foreign languages such as forwarding them to other call centres with competent staff on duty (the Czech Republic, Greece, Slovenia and Spain) or to interpretation services (Finland, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK).

The European emergency number 112 was introduced in 1991 to provide, in addition to national emergency numbers, a single emergency call number in all EU Member States to make emergency services more accessible, especially for travellers. Since 1998, EU rules require Member States to ensure that all fixed and mobile phone users can call 112 free of charge. Since 2003, telecoms operators must provide caller location information to emergency services so that they can find accident victims quickly. EU Member States must also raise citizens' awareness of 112.

Posted to the site on 3rd June 2008