EENA, the European Emergency Number Association, was set up in 1999 as a non-profit association registered in Belgium to serve as a neutral discussion platform for emergency services, industry and informed citizens with the aim of getting efficient, interoperable and harmonised emergency telecommunications in accordance with citizens' requirements. EENA has been advocating to authorities the issues related to the 112 as there are more and more EU citizens travelling for business or leisure. EENA is also promoting the establishment of a general, pan-European, multilingual, simplified and efficient system for alerting citizens about imminent or developing emergencies.

The EENA memberships include more than 400 emergency services representatives from 39 European countries, 24 solution providers, 9 international associations/organisations as well as 20 Members of the European Parliament.

Poland - The "112" emergency telephone number that can be dialed free of charge in the EU continues to not work properly in Poland, finds a report by the Supreme Auditing Chamber (NIK).

Malta - Malta has been singled out as an EU Member State that have not shown any commitment towards the introduction of a new road-safety measure meant to improve emergency response and ease the consequences of car accidents. The EU executive has been pushing member states to commit themselves to the introduction of eCall since 2005. The Commission has recently warned that if no progress is made throughout Europe on the effective introduction of this service this year it will be drafting new rules to oblige member states to introduce it.

Belgium - From October 2010, dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (T-CPR) will be used by operators of 112 call centers.

Bulgaria - On Monday the emergency telephone number registered a record number of calls and for some time there was a delay in the provision of medical treatment. At some point the telephone number was receiving 3-4 calls a minute, while the medical teams on duty were 12. Most calls made to 112 emergency telephone number have been related with the high temperatures in Bulgaria.

Malta - A 15-year-old girl, and two boys aged 10 and 12 respectively were separately arraigned with urgency in Court today and charged with making hundreds of prank calls on the 112 emergency phone number.

Istanbul, Turkey - Prank and pointless calls make it hard for Istanbul's 112 emergency call center to respond to serious accidents and injuries, its chief doctor says. According to Dr. Metin Arslan, the elimination of these types of calls would allow the service to help twice as many people each day.

Belgium - Here is the testimony of Nathalie. This resident of Rhode-Saint-Genèse, a Dutch-speaking city in Brussels periphery, is outraged by what happened to her last night...

Malta - A person requiring urgent medical attention who dialled the 112 emergency line had to wait a full 20 minutes before the call was answered, Shadow Home Affairs Minister Michael Falzon alleged in Parliament last week. Tragically, the caller later died.

Catalonia (Spain) - A new 112 centre coordinating all emergency services in Catalonia has been inaugurated.

Czech Republic - On 1st July, the new integrated emergency calls center of Ostrava was launched. A testing phasis will be held till the end of the year then it should be fully operational.

Poland - A 112 call was missed in Niemodlinie due to routing issues. This kind of troubles should be solved thanks to a dispatch center being implemented.

Italy - The Minister of Interior, Mr. Maroni, with the Governor of Lombardy, Mr. Formigoni, introduced the project conducted in the province of Varese. 112 Varese will be the single contact point for citizens in distress.

Finland - Up to a third of the calls made to emergency centres in Finland are inappropriate. Between January and March this year, the 112 emergency number was dialed 960,000 times. Over 200,000 were either an error, inappropriate or a prank call.

Lithuania - The Baltic Roundtable is organised jointly by EENA, the European Emergency Number Association, and the Lithuanian Emergency Response Centre, with the support of the Emergency Rescue Centre of Tallinn - Estonia and the State Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia. The debate will allow Baltic countries' stakeholders to discuss issues and challenges and to benefit from European best practices and international experience. The Roundtable will aim at providing the Baltic emergency authorities with a roadmap on how to best tackle the challenges related to the functioning of the European emergency number 112 and emergency services in general.

Brussels - The European Commission has decided to ask the EU Court of Justice to fine Italy for failing to respect a previous Court judgment (C-539/07) for not providing full caller location information for emergency services. Member States have an obligation to ensure that when a person dials Europe's single emergency number (112) from a mobile phone, details of his or her location are sent to the emergency services. The Commission's decision to refer Italy back to the Court follows two previous warnings from the Commission.

Brussels - The European Commission has welcomed five more Member States endorsing the eCall in-car emergency system. This life-saving system automatically dials Europe's single emergency number 112 in the event of a serious accident and could save up to 2500 lives per year in Europe when fully deployed. At a ceremony in Brussels on 4th May Belgium, Denmark, Luxemburg, Malta and Romania are signing the EU's Memorandum of Understanding to implement eCall across Europe, joining 15 other European countries that had already signed.

MALTA - The European Commission has yet to decide whether or not to take disciplinary action against Malta for the high rate of unanswered calls to emergency line 112.

Romania's 112 emergency number operator Special Telecommunications Service (Serviciul de Telecomunicatii Speciale, STS) will organise a tender for the acquisition of software applications for police and ambulance agents connected to the emergency service 112, according to Romania's Electronic System of Public Procurement (SEAP).

The EU-112 event is organised jointly by EENA, the European Emergency Number Association, and the General Directorate for Emergencies of the Region of Murcia, winner of the Outstanding Emergency Service Initiative EENA 112 Award in 2009. The aim of the workshop is to foster sharing of best practices between EU emergency services and relevant authorities. The event is organised under the patronage of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union and will gather 500 participants, a majority of them being EU emergency services representatives.

A public consultation on what is the best approach to ensure that basic telecoms services are available for all EU citizens has been launched yesterday by the European Commission. The consultation aims to see if rules and definitions on universal service need to be updated for the digital age, and in particular if they should be extended to cover broadband access. Please note that it is the directive governing 112 issues. It will help the Commission decide if it needs to present new legislative proposals on universal service obligations for telecoms by end of 2010. The consultation will run until 7 May 2010. A Public Workshop will be held on 30 March 2010 in Brussels.

Members of the European Parliament call to raise awareness about 112:

The European 112 Day is celebrated every year on 11 February. This year will mark the second edition and, on this occasion, European and national authorities organise events to promote the knowledge and good use of 112 to citizens.

Bulgaria has put in place the European emergency hotline format, an international service designed so that people in distress or an emergency situation can ring 112 and seek assistance. Presumably, as the 112 is an international emergency hotline, one would expect that all operators in the control room to have at least basic fluency in English.

Italy - The European Commission ended legal action taken against Italy following confirmation that calls made to the single European emergency number 112 can be effectively transferred to the relevant national emergency service.

Belgium - Greens have proposed a new legislation to the Belgian Senate in order to make calls to 112 accessible to persons with disabilities. They ask for implementation of SMS calls to emergency services.

On 14 January 2010 (hearings of the new European Commissioners at the European Parliament in Brussels), the Member of the European Parliament, Fiona Hall, from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe political group, asked a question about 112 and caller-location to Commissioner Neelie Kroes (Digital Agenda portfolio) during her hearing. The question aimed to raise awareness on the importance of providing EU emergency services with the means so that they can deploy and use the appropriate technologies. The lack of accurate caller-location technology availability for PSAPs was mentioned as an example. Proposed Commissioner Kroes replied that the Commission's role will be to draw the Member States' attention to the importance of the European emergency number 112 and its relevant aspects.

 Question and answer (written version) (81KB)

United Kingdom -  AN East Lancashire MP has called for an emergency mobile phone signal to be introduced after being stranded in a Rossendale blizzard. Janet Anderson is urging the government to get onboard with a new initiative to help people contact emergency services when their mobile phone signal is down.

United Kingdom - Ofcom today confirmed that it will allocate a new memorable three-digit phone number - 111 - for NHS non-emergency healthcare services. This will enable the Department of Health to introduce the service to make it easier for patients to access healthcare in their local area. Ofcom also confirmed that the Department of Health intends that calls to the number will be free.

Italy/Lithuania - The European Commission today stepped up legal action against Italy because Italian emergency services still do not receive information about the location of people who dial 112 - Europe's single emergency number - from mobile phones despite a previous judgement of the European Court of Justice. The Commission has decided to send Italy a reasoned opinion, which is the final stage before the case is referred again to the European Court of Justice, who would then have to decide to impose financial penalties on Italy for lack of respect of a previous judgement. At the same time, the Commission also ended legal action taken against Lithuania as caller location details are now available for 112 calls from mobile phones.

MALTA - One in three phone calls made to Malta's official emergency number remains unanswered, The Sunday Times has learnt.:This means that every year more than 310,000 calls to the 112 emergency line operated by the Maltese police fails to be picked up. Other EU countries have an unanswered percentage rate of between zero and 6.5 per cent.

Brussels - On 26th of October, the European Council (Member States) has finally adopted the Universal Service directive. This means that the provisions concerning the European emergency number 112 in this Directive will be the ones presented in the document below.

 Universal Service directive reform (89KB)

United Kingdom - Regulator has pushed resolution to allow 999 calls to roam onto another network if a user's own network has no coverage in the area they are calling from

The EENA is preparing, in cooperation with the Slovak Republic, a Roundtable on the 112 services and their development. This event is planned for the 19th and 20th of November 2009, to be taking place in the city of Zilina. The whole conference is under the patronage of the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Health.

For more information, contact Jérôme PÂRIS at jp@eena.org

The Commission today ended legal action against the Netherlands, now that emergency services can locate callers dialling the single European emergency number 112, even when users are unable to say where they are. Following a case launched by the Commission in 2006, the ECJ had ruled on 9 October 2008 that the Netherlands had failed to ensure that caller location information is made available for mobile calls to 112 ( IP/08/1529 , Judgment of, case C-230/07 ). The Dutch ministry indicated that caller location for mobile 112 calls would be made fully available to regional emergency services from 30 March 2009. The Commission has received evidence that this is now available, so the case has been closed.

The next Emergency Services Workshop will be organised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 4th and 5th 2009. The Emergency Services Workshop series is an ongoing effort in the emergency services community to coordinate global standards and technologies for emergency call and emergency notification. The primary focus of the workshop series is to foster coordination among the many standards development organizations involved in emergency services as they work toward a global solution for emergency communications using Internet technologies.

 View here the description of the 6th Emergency Services Workshop (48KB)

Bulgaria - An amending bill to the Interior Ministry Act will be ready within a few days. It will put the Ministry of Interior in charge of Civil Protection and 112 emergency telephone number.

The European Commission today made a last call to all EU countries to speed up voluntary implementation of the new in-car communication technology 'eCall' that could save 2 500 lives a year. The eCall system automatically dials   112, Europe's single emergency number  when a car has a serious accident and sends its location to the nearest emergency service. This can halve emergency response times, reduce severity of injures and save lives of people who do not know or cannot say where they are. For now, the deployment of eCall by public authorities, car companies and mobile phone operators is voluntary. So far the system is not operational in any EU country. The Commission warns, in a policy document adopted today, that if no significant progress is made in rolling out the system by the end of 2009 it could propose regulatory measures to make this life-saving technology available all over Europe as soon as possible. In 2008, more than 1.2 million accidents on Europe's roads caused around 39000 deaths and more than 1.7 million injuries.

Next Friday July 31st the EU co-financed project CHORIST (integrating Communications for enHanced envirOnmental RISk management and citizens safeTy) will come to its end. During the past three years, industry, research institutions and users organisations, have developed a system, that shows how it is possible to apply the most advanced telecommunication technology to alert a constantly higher part of the population, and thus to save lives. EENA has supported the acknowledgement of the key role that 112 centres play in assessing risk situations, and assured a continuous connection between the project and its final users: the citizens. The Compendium illustrates the results achieved by CHORIST, which are described in details also in the project website www.chorist.eu

 CHORIST Compendium (1869KB)

Serbia - Within the framework of the project "Technical Support to Emergency Services in Serbia" the EU will eventually provide a donation of 252 ambulances containing modern equipment conforming to EU standards. The project is part of the EU's support for the Health Ministry's efforts to bring emergency medical services in Serbia closer to EU standards.

United Kingdom - A new single memorable phone number - 111 - has been proposed to make it easier for patients to access non-emergency healthcare in their local area. A consultation has been launched on the proposal, so have your say before 20 August 2009.
The new 111 number would provide advice and information to the public when they need medical help urgently but the situation is not life-threatening.

Germany - Germany's telecoms regulator, the Federal Network Agency has announced a subtle change to the regulations covering emergency calls made from mobile phones. Under the change, starting on 1 July 2009, emergency calls made from mobile phones in Germany will only be possible with an active SIM card.

Lithuania - The location of people calling the single European emergency number 112 from their mobile phones in Lithuania is still not always available to emergency services, despite the European Court of Justice deciding, in its judgement last September that Lithuania is required under EU telecoms rules to make this happen. The European Commission therefore decided today to send a letter of formal notice to Lithuania calling on it to comply with the judgement by ensuring that caller location information is available to emergency services for all mobile calls to 112. Lithuania could be fined if the case proceeds to the European Court of Justice again. Caller location allows emergency services to pinpoint the location of 112 callers even if the caller cannot, making it much easier to respond to emergencies.

Brussels - The European Council has approved the proposed roaming regulation. Following EENA proposal, the regulation on roaming on public mobile telephone networks has been amended. It now provides for information to be sent on mobile phones (within the roaming messages) when citizens travel between EU countries "on the possibility of accessing emergency services by dialling the European emergency number 112 free of charge". This should very much contribute to increasing the knowledge of 112. The regulation is effective from July 1st, 2009.

Serbia - Minister of Health Tomica Milosavljevic  stated that the implementation of the project "Technical Support to Emergency Services in Serbia", worth €10 million, will start today. At a press conference Milosavljevic said that the project, financed by the EU, will help the Health Ministry to synchronise Serbia's emergency services to EU standards.

Caller location information is still not available to emergency services from all mobile 112 calls in Italy, as required by EU rules, despite a judgement from the European Court of Justice in January calling on Italy to make this happen. The Commission has today decided to send a letter of formal notice to Italy requesting it to comply with the judgement and to ensure that caller location information is available to emergency services for all 112 calls. Italy could be fined if the case proceeds to the European Court of Justice again.

Strasbourg (France) - A user's Internet access cannot be restricted without prior ruling by the judicial authorities, insists the European Parliament reinstating one of its first-reading amendments. By amending an informal agreement reached with Council, MEPs send the whole "telecom package" to conciliation. The EP does, however, agree with the Council on investments in new communications infrastructure, the reform of radio spectrum use, clear consumer rights and privacy protection.

THE COST of using mobile phones abroad will be significantly cut under regulations approved by the European Parliament yesterday...More transparency for customers is also being introduced by legislation as operators will be obliged to send customers a text when roaming with the prices and the EU 112 emergency number.

Sofia, Bulgaria -  The Ministry of Health will officially announce the end of first stage of project "Setting up communication structure for emergency number 112" at 9.30 in the National Medical Coordination Center, the press service of the health ministry informed. The Minister of Health - Evgeny Zhelev will attend the event.

The German BWMI has issued emergency call regulation has been implemented as a law on 18 March'09. The regulation carries the obligation for mobile operators to allow calling 112 or 110 from their handsets. Additionally, the citizens of the country can only make calls to emergency numbers only when they have a mobile handset and active SIM card instead to prevent abuse of calling emergency number for fun.

Plans to make it easier for people to call the emergency services on mobile phones wherever they are in the UK have been unveiled.

Communications watchdog Ofcom has given details of proposals to develop a service where emergency calls automatically "roam" on to an available network if there is no coverage from a customer's own mobile service.

Serbia: First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic yesterday announced that the Interior Ministry's emergency service is soon to be formed.

You're overseas. It's late. You're driving alone when disaster strikes. You've crashed your car and you need help. Who do you call?  You might not know the number for the local emergency services, or that it's 999 in Britain; 15, 17 and 18 in France; or 10111 and 10177 in South Africa. But do you know that there is one internationally-recognized number that will connect you to the emergency services across Europe and even further beyond?

A round table discussion will be held on Friday about the emergency phone number 112. It will focus on society's knowledge about the use of the service, as well as the role of the civil society. The event will start at 9.00 in Grant Hotel Sofia. The forum is organized with the cooperation of MEP Dushana Zdravkova and is supported by the European Association for the emergency phone number 112.

Switzerland Federal Council proposed to step by step highlight the 112 as the single emergency number in Switzerland and to integrate to this number the police, fire and ambulance services.

EENA is delighted to announce the launch of the 112 Foundation. The 112 Foundation was created to save lives by promoting the knowledge and appropriate use of the European emergency number 112. The 112 Foundation was proposed and established by EENA - the European Emergency Number Association - in cooperation with its Advisory Board.  Its main objective is to offer free campaign materials to all citizens and organisations willing to inform and educate on the 112.

Since December 2008, EU citizens can contact emergency services from anywhere in the European Union by dialing 112, the EU-wide emergency number, free of charge from both fixed and mobile phones. But, only one in four Europeans knows that this life-saving number exists in other Member States and almost three in ten 112 callers in other countries have encountered language problems. Today the Commission, along with the European Parliament and the Council, declared February 11 "European 112 Day" to spread the word about 112 and push national authorities to make the EU's single emergency number more multilingual.

112 Awards Ceremony held on 10th February in Palais d'Egmont, Brussels.

Bulgaria - The European Commission cancelled the infringement procedure for implementation of a sanction against Bulgaria, for the inability to comply with the agreement for the setting up of the emergency telephone system 112.