112 European emergency telephone number

A written declaration was adopted last week by the European Parliament requesting an evaluation of the operation of “112”, the little known European number, which enables everyone to call emergency services anywhere in the European Union, from a fixed or a mobile phone.

The declaration, which was adopted with the largest majority ever to have been attained for a written declaration (512 MEPs out of a total of 785), calls upon the Member States and the European Commission to engage the necessary processes and resources for ensuring an efficient 112 service all over the EU.

More precisely, it calls upon the Commission to evaluate by independent bodies the real state of implementation of the 112 throughout the EU, using the methodology developed in 2003 and to deal with emergency telecommunications by involving all policies concerned and by building upon the example of countries who deal with this issue in new and innovative ways.

MEPs point out that that proper implementation of the 112 concerns several EU policies (telecommunications, health, internal security and civil protection), while affecting others (transport, tourism) and consider that the EU needs to establish high quality, interoperable emergency telecommunications between citizens and emergency services in view of reducing suffering and the loss of human life during everyday accidents and major disasters.