Single European emergency call number 112
What's new ?
First 112 European Day - 11 February 2009
The Commission organised with the European Parliament events on the single European emergency number 112 on 11 February 2009 in Brussels to promote and show the benefits of '112' for EU citizens. A tripartite Declaration was signed by the Commission together with the European Parliament and the Council .
This establishes the 11 February as 112 European Day. All the linguitic versions of the 112 tripartite Declaration are available at
here.
The Commission issued a press release calling for Member States action to increase awareness of their citizens about 112 and stressing the need to provide a multilingual service to calls made to the the single European emergency number 112.
As part of the 112 European day DG Environment civil protection Unit organised a workshop on different aspects of 112 implementation relevant for civil protection authorities to highlight and share best practices in the implementation of 112 in the EU, in order to stimulate further improvement of its functioning and better access of citizens to emergency services.
The result of a new 2009 Eurobarometer survey (Europeans citizens awareness and views on 112) was also released on 11 February 2009:
In parallel the Europan Emergency Number Association (EENA) organised on 10 and 11 February in the evening, specific awareness raising events including an 112 award ceremony (see http://www.eena.org).
112 event on 3rd June 2008 in Brussels
The European Commission organised an event on 3rd june 2008 in Brussels to contribute to the promotion of the proper use of the single European emergency number 112 in the EU. A new 112 web site ec.europa.eu/112 was launched.
One emergency number for Europe
112 is the single emergency telephone number for the European
Union. It was established by
Council Decision of 29 July 1991 (91/398/EEC) and reinforced
through further legislation, namely the directive on the application
of open network provision to voice telephony and on universal
service for telecommunications in a competitive environment,
Directive 98/10/EC.
The relevant legal provisions at European Union level are
now incorporated in article 26 of Directive 2002/22/EC known
as the
Universal Service Directive, which provides for universal
service and users' rights relating to electronic communications
networks and services.
European citizens in distress situations are able to call
the 112 and get through to the emergency services in all Member
States. Thus, anyone travelling within the Union has to remember
only one number and this guarantees a quicker and more efficient
intervention.
Where can you use the 112 number?
All EU member states have reported that the 112 emergency
number is now in use.
National web pages on 112
Expanding on the 112 emergency number
Dialling the 112 lifeline - medical coordination - Hesculaep
project
There are a staggering 100 million recorded medical emergencies
in Europe every year, ranging from heart attacks to terrorist
attacks, but also including road accidents, fires and earthquakes.
How are these crisis situations managed? And how do the call
centres and medical services operate in different European
countries? The 13 partners in the Hesculaep project, launched
by the ERA-NET initiative, are currently comparing their experiences
and sharing their knowledge with the aim of improving the
operation of these vital centres.
Visit project website
Cars that can dial 112: Commission and industry target
2009
All new cars in Europe could be equipped with automatic
emergency call (eCall) technology as soon as 2009 under a
Commission/industry action plan agreed in Brussels in early
2005. This high-level meeting of industry leaders and representatives
of EU Member States and the European Parliament received a
progress report from the eSafety Forum, a pan-European public/private
partnership that promotes road safety. The eCall action plan
will be implemented across Europe, as part of the EU's
eSafety initiative.
Read press release
Archive material on 112
The services of the European Commission issued in October
2001 a document entitled
State of implementation of the single European emergency call
number «1-1-2» (available for downloading in
Adobe Acrobat® format - size ± 130 Kbytes).
The document was compiled on the basis of the
Survey on the implementation of the 112 in the European Union
(situation on the 6th of January 1999) (available for
downloading in
Adobe Acrobat® format - size ± 130 Kbytes), conducted
in 1998 by the Commission, (DG Information Society, Communications
Services: Policy and Regulatory Framework), the questionnaire
answered in the context of the
Workshop on the implementation of the 112 in the European
Union (May 2000, Luxembourg) and individual communications
of Member States.
A Eurobarometer survey conducted in spring 2000 showed that
only one of every five European citizens are aware of the
existence and potential use of the 112.
Click here for more information.
Workshops and projects on 112
An information campaign on the single European emergency
call number 112 for Belgians travelling abroad and for foreign
citizens living in Belgium has been launched in September
2001 by Belgian authorities.
Click here for more information
 (in
French, Dutch, German and English)
A workshop on the effective handling of emergency calls
was organised on 8-9 March 2002 in Rosersberg (Sweden).
It focused on 112 operators and on how technology and man
could be further bridged. This workshop builds on a previous
one held in Luxembourg.
Click here for more information
A workshop on the implementation of the 112 in the European
Union was organised on 10-11 May 2000 in Luxembourg. It
identified problems related with turning the directive into
an effective emergency number, such as multilingualism and
the location of an emergency.
Click here for more information
The National Fire and Civil Protection Service and the
the Portuguese Consumer Protection Association - DECO carried
out a study on the functioning of the 112 emergency number
in Portugal. Find here the final report of the study "Analise
ao Servico do 112". (pdf~1,8M)
An awareness campaign to promote the unique emergency
number 112 in Belgium was successfully completed by the
Service Public Federal Interieur Direction generale de la
Securite civile at the beginning of 2004. The campaign lasted
for two yeas and was specifically focused on travel agencies,
tourist offices, Belgium embassies in EU countries, embassies
in Belgium of the EU countries and the Thalys-Eurostar.
Click here for more information |
