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News Archive
EU - During the 4 July plenary, the European Parliament will debate a report on universal service and the 112 emergency number, drafted by Greek Socialist Sylvana Rapti, assessing the current state of play and challenges, notably financing, call handling (response time, calls in foreign languages, caller location, etc) and quality of access for vulnerable people and disabled consumers.
The EENA has published the following Operations Document: Caller location in support of emergency services. This document has been written by EENA's Operations Committee members and describes the present situation of caller location in Europe for fixed and mobile telephony. Furthermore, it intends to agree on common location accuracy requirements.
France - The growing number of emergency numbers is a factor of confusion for citizens.
USA - NENA announced that its Executive Board formally approved an end-state architectural vision for Next Generation 9‑1‑1; along with a number of directives for additional Technical Development review. The document, commonly known as "i3," lays out a detailed architecture for key elements of NG9‑1‑1 systems, describing how networks and devices will eventually work together to enable voice, text, picture, and data exchange between citizens and first responders.
Turkey - In case tourists call 112 emergency call service, they will be connected to foreign patient call centers.
Hungary - A universal emergency number 112 will be established in Hungary. The Ministry of National Development decided to introduce a new Ft 5 billion system on June 7.
Estonia - Estonian Interior Minister Ken-Marti Vaher said that he hopes to launch a single emergency phone number pilot project in 2012. Currently there are two emergency phone numbers in Estonia: 110 (the police), 112 (emergency situations).
France - Hungary signed the eCall Memorandum of Understanding (eCall MoU) during the ITS Europe conference held in Lyon. It is the 22 Member State which by its signature commits to the timely deployment of eCall in Europe.
Malta - The police have failed to explain why no action appeared to have been taken following two 112 emergency calls to report a case of domestic violence.
Cracow, Poland - Recent storms cause havoc for people calling the emergency 112 number, mobile customers transferring from network to network, and Prime Minister Tusk causing a stir in foreign dailies following his 'heated' remarks.
Brussels - Speech made by Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner in charge of the Digital Agenda, in the framework of the European Parliament's Report on Universal Service and 112.
Sweden - SOS Alarm owners push the company to reach higher profits despite several counties having cancelled contracts with the emergency response outfit while others express serious dissatisfaction.
Bulgaria - Bulgaria's Health Minister has announced his plans to introduce standards for providing emergency medical aid. He said that the emergency medical teams will be required to arrive on the spot within 20 minutes after the 112 call in life-threatening cases. In non-life-threatening cases, the requirement will be 40 minutes.
Denmark - Citizen volunteers in rural towns far from hospitals are saving lives as part of new emergency response programme.
USA (Time Magazine) - "The emergency network was designed for landlines. Land-what? Why our safety depends on modernizing 911 for the mobile age"
Brussels - Diana Wallis, Vice-president of the European Parliament, contacted UK air and sea carriers asking that they make their passengers aware of the 112 number during the Easter holidays. EasyJet and P&O Ferries have already joined the initiative. They participated to Ms Wallis launching press conference at the European Parliament.
Brussels - A public hearing was organised on 11 April by the European Parliament in the context of the Own-Initiative Report on 112 and universal service. At this occasion, Demetrios Pyrros, Chair of EENA Advisory Board, was invited to present the EENA point of view.
112 and emergency services - EENA's Input to the Own-Initiative Report on Universal Service and 112 (05/04/2011) (155KB)Brussels - In the framework of the preparation of the European Parliament's Own-Initiative Report on Universal Service and 112, the EENA prepared the position paper you will find above.
Brussels - Today the eCall Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Latvia. Uldis Augulis, Latvian Minister of Transport, signed the eCall MoU in the presence of Zoran Stancic, Deputy Director-General, European Commission, Information Society and Media Directorate General. Latvia is the 21st Member State to sign the eCall MoU.
Brussels - The EENA's Next Generation 112 Group (NG112) publishes the Introduction to Next Generation Emergency Services in Europe document. It aims at providing a general introduction to NG112 and a look at the challenges to be faced in Europe. It then advocates the creation of a harmonised NG112 service description, reusing as much as possible the available international standards in cooperation with international organisations and with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.
Brussels - The EENA publishes the first EENA Operations Document: False Emergency Calls. This document has been written by Operations Committee members and intents to agree on a single classification of false emergency calls. Furthermore, it will help to ensure that statistic about false emergency calls are comparable. This document also reports on the practices of European countries to combat false emergency calls.
Russia - A cry for help can soon be made in several languages as Russia's emergency services go multi-lingual. The 112 emergency phone number, which is set to provide a single switchboard rather than the current system of separate numbers for police, ambulance and fire services, will also handle calls in six languages. As well as Russian, distressed callers will be able to get help in French, English, German, Spanish and Chinese according to a draft government decree.
Italy - The European Commission closed a longstanding case against Italy as it seems that the Italian authorities made significant efforts and implemented a nationwide caller location system in 2010.
Ireland - Telecommunications operator O2 has brought a legal challenge to a decision by the telecommunications regulator allowing the handling charges for 999 or emergency calls here to be increased to a maximum €3.35 a call.
Malta - The European Commission is "closely watching" the efforts of the Maltese authorities to improve their running of the 112 emergency phone line.
Azerbaijan - 5 years have passed since establishing of 112 call service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Finland - The old emergency numbers will no longer work as of this Monday, when only one number will function: 112. This is the EU-wide emergency number, and the old number for Finnish police, which used to work alongside 112, is no longer in use.
Belgium - The Belgian law has officialy created the 112 call centres and a 112 agency on 17th February.
EU - To mark "European 112 Day" on 11th February, the European Commission is urging Member States to step up their efforts to increase public awareness of the existence of 112, the number which can be used in all EU Member States to reach emergency services. An EU-wide survey released today shows around three out of four EU citizens still do not know this life-saving number. However, EU telecoms rules require Member States to make their citizens aware of the 112 number. To increase the protection of EU citizens, Member States are further required to improve the accuracy and reliability of caller location information under the new EU telecoms rules, which must be implemented into national law by 25 May this year.
France - In 2010, Paris firebrigades (BSPP) received 843 984 calls to 18 and 522 906 calls to 112.
Malta - Labour MEP Louis Grech has asked the European Commission for an update on the inquiry into how the European emergency service 112 is run in Malta.
Bulgaria - Emergency 112 phone operators in Bulgaria will receive medical training, Health Minister Stefan Konstantinov told the private television channel bTV on February 7 2011.
Armenia - The Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations plans the introduction of a system similar to 911 in the U.S. and 112 in Europe, Press Secretary of the ministry told Armenian News-NEWS.am. However, he said, it does not mean that police and other emergency services will stop performing their functions. "Psychologists will talk to people before specialists arrive," Gigoryan said. He hopes that the Armenian 911 system will start operating this year.
EU - January 2011 marks the start of the HeERO project (Harmonised eCall European Pilot). This three-year project is partially funded by the European Commission under the ICT PSP programme and gathers 40 partners from all over Europe, including user organisations and telecommunications companies. 9 countries will prepare for the deployment of the necessary infrastructure in Europe with the aim of making the harmonised Pan-European interoperable in-vehicle emergency call service "eCall" a reality.
Poland - Good coordination and cooperation of rescuers are needed in the event of day-to-day emergencies as well as for major disasters. It should be the advantages of the 112 system that is being implemented in Poland.
Brussels - The EENA welcomes the NOVES proposals and the efforts by 3GPP to enable citizens to communicate the PSAPs using additional media. The above document summarises the position of the EENA on the NOVES proposals that were presented during an EENA NG112 conference call in December 2010.
Ukraine - The President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, has instructed his Prime Minister, Mykola Azarov, to provide the country with a system of emergency assistance to citizens focused on the single number 112.
Estonia - Early 2011, residents and visitors on the small islands of Estonia's northern and western coast will have ambulance teams flown out to them in the event of an emergency.
Ukraine - The Ministry of Emergency Situations intends to launch an emergency response system for assisting the population based on the telephone number 112 in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Donetsk by 1st June 2011.
France - Three Dutch skiers were rescued in the Alps after dialling 112 to call emergency services.
Croatia - By signing this Memorandum, Croatia committed itself to the timely implementation of eCall, the pan-European in-vehicle emergency call system. eCall enables a car involved in a crash to automatically dial 112 and call the nearest emergency centre. The system notifies the accident and transmits its exact location. Croatia is the 24th European country to sign the Memorandum of Understanding.
USA - As recommended in the National Broadband Plan, this Notice of Inquiry (NOI) initiates a
comprehensive proceeding to address how Next Generation 911 (NG911) can enable the public to obtain
emergency assistance by means of advanced communications technologies beyond traditional voicecentric
devices.
Bulgaria - An ambulance from the emergency room took over five hours to arrive at an address in Sofia's central "Lozenets" district, from the time the first call was placed.
Portugal - On 24th November, Portugal received the visit of the Directorate General for Information Society and Media (European Commission). In the framework of the preparation of the 16th Progress report on the single European electronic communications market and following the National 112 System Award received by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this visit aimed at getting more information on the reform of the 112 emergency system in Portugal.
USA - "9-1-1 is an indispensible, live-saving tool," said FCC Chairman Genachowski. "But today's 9-1-1 system doesn't support the communication tools of tomorrow. Even though mobile phones are the device of choice for most 9-1-1 callers, and we primarily use our phones to text, right now, you can't text 9-1-1. It's time to bring 9-1-1 into the digital age."
Ireland - A new 999/112 emergency call answering service has been deployed in Ireland by BT in a move that represents the largest change programme for the service.
Romania - Romanian regulator ANCOM and the telecommunications industry last week agreed new measures to combat the abusive 112 calls and new regulatory measures appropriate for wholesale leased line service.
Brussels - The fourth 112 Awards Ceremony was held in the evening of 8 November in the Palais d'Egmont, Brussels. Individuals and organisations particularly engaged in improving and promoting the European emergency number 112 were rewarded by the EENA and its members (public authorities in charge of emergency services, international organisations, Members of the European Parliament, solution providers).
Malta - The police is embarking on a promotional awareness campaign to inform people why and when they should use 112. Assistant Police Commissioner Josie Brincat said that the main intention of the police is to cut down on the number of "prank and nuisance calls" the police receives every month.
Thailand - A Senator proposed that Thailand adopts a single emergency hotline number similar to 911 in the US and Canada and 112 in Europe.
Ireland - The handover of the 999/112 emergency call service from Eircom to British Telecom (BT) is expected to be completed in time for it's launch by the end of the month.
Australia - The battle of the nation's emergency phone numbers is heating up, with a push to allow the international 112 code to be used from fixed telephone lines.
Denmark - Daughter attempted to call for help four times, but was referred elsewhere. Emergency services are apologising after an incident in which they misdiagnosed a potentially fatal condition four times.
The European Commission is carrying out an impact assessment of the eCall deployment. The assessment considers various policy options (no intervention, voluntary approach or mandatory implementation of eCall) to implement the eCall system in Europe. The main objective of the public consultation was to collect the opinions of stakeholders and EU citizens on the issue and therefore ensure the transparency of the decision making process.
France - A set of regulations aiming at harmonising competencies of each emergency service was implemented in 2007 and 2009. There is 14 common platforms (15-18-112) already working and 21 being implemented. According to the Ministry, there is now a good coordination between emergency services such as ambulance and firefighters.
EADS Defence & Security, a world leader in global security solutions and systems for civil and military markets, announced its official name change to CASSIDIAN. The announcement was made by EADS and by CASSIDIAN CEO Dr. Stefan Zoller.
Poland - The Ministry of Internal Affairs recently posted two open tenders for the installation of the 112 emergency systems, with one company - Medium Soft - undercutting competition by almost 10 million zloty (2.5 million euro) in one instance.
On October 1st, 2010, Cristina Lumbreras, former IT manager of Madrid's 112 emergency centre, joined the EENA. She will be in charge of coordinating the activities of EENA's 112 Operations Committee. She will also support the Next-Generation 112 Committee (NG112) in view of ensuring the transition to a reliable IP-based emergency calling system. Meanwhile, she will be developing EENA's certification programmes for the 112 community and represent the association in international standardisation bodies. Ms Lumbreras will also be contributing to several EU funded projects requiring an in-depth technical expertise.
USA - All wireless carriers will have to meet new location-accuracy rules at the county or PSAP level when delivering emergency calls from their customers within eight years, FCC commissioners decided today during their monthly open meeting.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Ukraine's ministry of Emergencies plans to launch the 112 emergency call service by 2012 for cities that will host the European Football Championship, and by 2012 over the whole Ukraine.
"We plan for the 112 service to start working in 2010 in the cities where the championship matches are to be held, and starting from 2012 it will be available across the whole country," Deputy Emergencies Minister Valeriy Tretiakov said at a press conference on Tuesday.
France - The hospital of Grenoble will develop an emergency call centre for deaf persons that should be running by 2011. This initiative is part of 2 projects:
- REACH112 - a European project to which EENA is participating
- A French national pilot project
Poland - The Ministry of Interior and Administration (MSWiA) is to announce a tender for up to eight strategic advisory companies for its forthcoming IT projects, Puls Biznesu has informed. The winners will work on feasibility studies and tender specifications for projects such as: w-PUAP (for the administrative services), PL.ID (electronic ID cards, to be launched in 2011), and the 112 alarm call and communication infrastructure for the emergency services. The ministry is prepared to spend nearly PLN 50m (€11.9m) on these advisory services.
UK - POLICE in Somerset hope to give deaf and hard of hearing people better access to emergency services, via a live video link.Avon and Somerset Police are taking part in an £8 million European project - called Reach 112 - to develop the technology for the video link over the next three years.
People can now reach emergency services from anywhere in the EU, simply by dialling 112, the single European emergency number. Now that 112 can be called from any phone in Bulgaria, it has achieved complete availability just before the Christmas period when thousands of people travel between EU Member States to visit family, hit the slopes or look for winter sun. It also crowns the combined efforts of the European Commission and EU Member States to make 112 fully available everywhere so that Europeans will always have a lifeline in the EU.
Sofia. Next week we'll be informed whether the European Commission (EC) will be pressing charges against our country for irregularities related to the functioning of the 112 emergency line.
Hannah's desperate attempt to contact the police by furtively dialling 999 on her mobile phone while in her abductor's car has revealed a technological deficiency in calling the emergency services.
Commissioner Reding announced that the Commission, the Parliament and the Council will organise a joint event on the European 112 Day on 11 February 2009: "most EU citizens still do not know about 112. I will therefore continue to promote 112 as one of my priorities. There will be a special 112 event on the 11th of February (1-1-2) in 2009 organised together with the European Parliament and the Council."
Sofia - Parliament passed at the second reading on November 14 2008 the law regulating the functioning of the National Emergency Call System with a single European phone number 112. A clause in the law envisions a fine of up to 20 000 leva for hoax calls, which would falsely activate the relevant emergency services in the country, Bulgarian-language media reported.
The European Commission officially announced on Friday, 24 October, 2008, the selection of the project REACH112 - Responding to all citizens needing help - that intends to improve the accessibility of the EU emergency services for people with disabilities as well as person-to-person communication. REACH112 is a project proposed by the EENA Advisory Board, launched as part of the 112 Excellence Centre concept that intends to support the upgrading of 112 emergency services and highlight them as best practices in Europe. France, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have been the 5 pilot countries selected for this 9 million Euros project.
The European Commission proposed legislation on establishing a Critical Infrastructure Warning Information Network (CIWIN) to strengthen information-sharing on critical infrastructure protection between EU Member States.
Bulgaria's Parliament passed on October 18 at the first reading the draft bill of the law on European emergency number 112, which envisions a maximum fine of 20 000 leva for misuse of the emergency line.
The European Commission has closed an infringement case against Poland for the lack of availability of caller location after the Polish authorities confirmed that it has been available for calls to the European emergency number 112 (the pan-Europe version of 911 / 999) since 30th June.
Sofia. The special investigation techniques issue has been raised during the discussion of the bill on 112 emergency telephone number, Focus News Agency reported.
The French department of Haute-Corse is planning to reorganise its management of emergency calls by gathering on a same platform the fire brigade (112 and 18) and the EMS (15-SAMU) in order to optimize the efficiency of call handing and interventions.
Sofia - The Ministry of Emergency Situations said on September 30 that the last two remaining regional centres for the Europe-wide emergency number 112 had gone into operation. With the two centres in Varna and Kurdjali operational, the country had met European Union requirements regarding the country-wide introduction of the general European emergency number, a ministry spokesperson told The Sofia Echo.
A number of emergency services experts are meeting to discuss ongoing work on IP-based emergency services in Vienna, Austria on 21st to 23rd October 2008. The first workshop day is focusing on tutorials to help those interested in the classical 1-1-2 emergency call to get up-to-speed with architectures and standards developed for next generation emergency calling. During the second day various recent activities of standardization organizations around the world will be presented. The third workshop day is dedicated to early warning standardization efforts and the outlook to future emergency services activities.
Participation from those working in standardization organizations as well as persons with interest into the subject is highly appreciated.
For socializing an evening program has been organized.
Sofia. Emergency line 112 would start operating as of 30 September this year, MEP Feliz Husmenova announced at the European Parliament. Husmenova also confirmed that the emergency centre would be accessible from across the country. In her words the system employed cutting-edge technologies allowing the immediate location of the troubled callers.
The European Parliament adopted a legislative report at first-reading aimed at providing wider access to telecoms services, more information for consumers and stronger data protection. All the major political groups in Parliament agreed a compromise before the plenary vote which does not alter the main goal of the draft legislation - to improve the position of telecom users - but they greatly clarify its aims, notably as regards protection of privacy and fundamental rights.
The European Commission granted Bulgaria a final extension of three months to deploy the single European emergency call number 112 all across its territory or else stand trial.
Brussels - The European Commission on Thursday opened legal proceedings against Italy over its failure to fully implement the European Union's common emergency phone number - 112. The EU executive, in its role of guardian of the bloc's treaties, also referred Bulgaria and Romania to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for similar failures.
EU executive warns Romania, Bulgaria and Italy over pan-European emergency number, and raps Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden over regulatory matters.
It is expected that tomorrow the European Commission will make a decision to file the first suit against Bulgaria in the European court.The reason is the emergency telephone 112, which is still not functioning in the country, a representative of the EC pointed out, cited by the Bulgarian National Radio.
The European Court of Justice Declared that the Republic of Lithuania has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 26(3) of Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services.
Providers of internet telephony must now allow emergency 999 calls over their networks or face the risk of enforcement action, regulator Ofcom has said.
The ruling follows a consultation in December last year after Ofcom research found that just over three-quarters of internet telephony users who cannot access emergency numbers, thought they could, or were unsure.
Today, the European Parliament will debate, in plenary session, the so-called EU Telecoms Reform, proposed by the Commission on 13 November 2007. Of particular importance in this debate will be the proposals made by the European Commission to give consumers of fixed and mobile phones and Internet services more rights and better choice (IP/07/1677). Today's debate among the European Parliament's 785 members is expected to pave the way for a vote of the Commission's entire EU Telecoms reform proposals in first reading on 23 September. The French presidency could broker a political agreement at the Council of Telecoms Ministers on 27 November. New consumer rights would then become law in all 27 EU Member States by 2010.
Sofia. The European Commission (EC) may soon initiate legal proceedings against Bulgaria with the European Court of Justice (ECJ) because of the emergency phone line 112, as the latter it unequally accessible across Bulgaria.
In an emergency, a phone call can mean life or death, and the last thing you want is to have to fumble for the right number. In the past, Croats had to memorise three separate numbers -- 92 for police, 93 for the fire brigade and 94 for medical personnel -- and it was easy to confuse them.
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
The health minister has called on citizens to be more active in using the available emergency services, speaking to Anatolia news agency over the weekend.
Burgas. Minister of Emergency Situations Emel Etem has announced in the seaside city of Burgas that 112 emergency telephone number will be launched in the city at the end of the week, Focus News Agency's correspondent reported.
Fines of up to BGN 20,000 for fake alerts made over the new emergency 112 phone line are included in the project for the new Law for the National Emergency Call System with an Unified European Number.
EENA is delighted to announce that MEP Alain Lamassoure has decided to join EENA Advisory Board. Alain Lamassoure is a French Member of the European Parliament (EPP-ED). Alain Lamassoure was Minister of European Affairs in France between 1993 and 1995 and Minister of Budget between 1995 and 1997.
In his report to the French President in June 2008 to prepare the French Presidency of the EU, M. Lamassoure requested strong actions to ensure that 112 is known and functions appropriately.
Sofia. The Bulgarian Council of Ministers adopted today a draft bill for the emergency line 112, the press office of the Ministry for Extraordinary Situations announced.
Netherlands - The abuse of the 112 emergency services telephone number rose last year despite a clampdown on those making false calls, the Nederlands Dagblad reports.
The new fire appliances will display both the UK emergency telephone number (999) and the Pan-European (112) emergency telephone number, to raise public awareness of the existence of the single European Emergency Telephone Number.
The European Emergency Number Association (EENA) announced today a new ongoing Europe-wide 112 Community Education project to promote awareness of the European Emergency Number - 112. The project will engage in a number of promotional efforts to educate the general public and promote specific educational outreach efforts for children, parents, teachers, and senior citizens.
Eleftherotypia News - This article reviews the recent activities related to 112 in the EU and the creation of the EENA Advisory Board to work on all aspects of this issue. The political support is highlighted, notably the support from Commissioner Viviane Reding who intends to reach 99% of knowledge next year. Published in Greece, the article indicates that there are high expectations on the work of Mrs. Michou from the European Commission DG Infso who is in charge of 112. There is also a review of the new European Commission 112 Website that shows clear disparities in time and accuracy on the information provided (or not) to the emergency services.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - Access to the European emergency number 112 via electronic communications, more transparent information on access and use of content on internet as well as on operators' tariffs, portable numbers when changing operator and a clearer definition of the principle of network neutrality: these are the main points of the report adopted on Monday by the EP Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection as part of the "telecoms package".
The Minister of Interior Patrick Dewael launched an information campaign on 112 in Belgium. In July and August, 112 information materials will be available in tourist areas such as stations and aiports.
As part of the Renewed Social Agenda, the Commission adopted today a proposal for a directive to facilitate the application of European patients' rights in relation to cross-border healthcare, as well as a Communication on improving co-operation between Member States in this area. Despite several clear European Court of Justice rulings confirming that the EU Treaty gives individual patients the right to seek healthcare in other Member States and be reimbursed at home, uncertainty remains over how to apply the principles of this jurisprudence more generally. With this proposal the Commission aims to provide legal certainty on this issue. This follows calls from both the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers for the Commission to propose a specific initiative on cross-border healthcare, in a way explicitly adapted to, and respecting, the unique nature of the healthcare sector. In addition, the proposed Directive provides a solid basis to unlock the huge potential for European cooperation to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of all EU health systems.
The European Commission has unveiled a healthcare package designed to make it easier for patients to get medical treatment elsewhere in the EU.
Disaster Management Minister Emel Etem said on June 13 that two more major call centres handling European emergency number 112 calls would become operational as early as on July 3 2008.
Listen to the recording of the 112 call made by 3 years-old Krystian who saved his mum (5108KB)Krystian, 3 years-old, from Poland, received the Best Citizen 112 Award during the 112 Awards Ceremony on 3 June 2008. On 21 October 2007, Krystian called 112 and saved his mum who was in danger.
The formation by CEN of CEN BT/WG 161 'Protection and Security of the Citizen', clearly demonstrates the current feeling that standards activity may help reduce risks to European citizens from a range of hazards such as natural disasters and the increasing risk from terrorist attacks.
This requires agreements on the process of Disaster Management and on the interoperability of procedures and technology.
Indeed, troughout Europe, millions of people are working in emergency services, as professionals or volunteers. Most of them operate on the National level or Regional level. However, an increasing number of incidents and disasters occur in the border territory, requiring a close co-operation between the operations of various services in different member states, or indeed within the same Member State.
To improve this service, a Management system approach is very important, since this enables the various services and personnel to co-operate on a common basis within a single master process.
The EENA Advisory Board is proud to announce the second 112 Awards Ceremony. The second 112 Awards Ceremony will be held at the occasion of the joint European Parliament/European Commission event on 112 next 3 June 2008 in Brussels. Commissioner Reding has confirmed her participation to the event along with several other politicians. Please find more information on the link provided above.
Dr. Demetrios Pyrros, Chairman of EENA Advisory Board, participated to the Public Hearing organised by the European Parliament on the Telecom Package last Tuesday 6 May.
Sofia. In June the European Commission will institute proceedings against Bulgaria because of the late start of the 112 emergency service. The announcement came in the middle of the week by emergency call center director Stoyan Gramatikov. Bulgaria made engagements for the 112 line to be operational in the beginning of 2007.
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - A Romanian man has been fined for making 6,442 profane phone calls to an emergency number, police said Thursday. The 24-year-old man, who lives in a village in southern Romania, was identified in February and fined $223 in April after a checkup showed he was mentally sound, said Daniela Salaoru, police spokeswoman for Ialomita county police.
According to Guido Bertolaso, director of the national Department of the Italian civil Protection, "Italy is the only Country of the European Union not to have adopted the European emergency number 112".
Take-up of intelligent car technologies remains very low, given their potential, says the Transport Committee in a report adopted on Tuesday. These technologies need to get cheaper, but also to be better publicised, it stresses, noting that if fully deployed, with the necessary infrastructure, EU-wide emergency call technology could save up to 2,500 lives a year on EU roads, and electronic stability control up to 4,000.
Bucharest - Romania has two months to solve problems over how their emergency services are contacted, the European Commission warns.
BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - The European Commission says it has sent Bulgaria and Romania a final warning, threatening to take both countries to court if they do not ensure that the 112 European emergency telephone number works properly.
In France, a woman died some weeks ago following inappropriate intervention of the EMS (SAMU).
United Kingdom - Following several years of discussion, the 101 non-emergency number has been dropped.
Brussels is planning to discuss starting penalty procedures against Bulgaria for the incorrect implementation of the Pollution Control and Prevention Directive. The measures are being considered because of violations of environmental law and because of the delay in implementing the emergency number 112.
POLAND - The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration has announced that the new 112 emergency number will start operating in Poland by summertime.
ROMA - This articles describes the decision from the Italian authorities to upgrade the 112 services.
(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission on Wednesday relaunched an initiative to create an EU civil protection force to intervene anywhere in the world in case of a natural or man-made disaster.
For more information:
Text of the Written Declaration 100/2007 on Early Warning Systems of the population adopted by the European Parliament (26/02/2008) (40KB)The European Parliament has adopted by a large majority the Written Declaration 100/2007 on Early Warning Systems of the population. This is a second major success at the European Parliament concerning the objectives promoted by EENA in favour of citizens' safety following the endorsement of the Written Declaration on the European Emergency Number 112 in September 2007.
In a new round of infringement proceedings for Telecoms Rules, the European Commission has closed two cases against Latvia and Poland. The Commission has decided to also suspend its previous decision to refer a case to the European Court of Justice.
The European commission has threatened member states with possible legal action if it does not do more to promote the EU-wide 112 emergency number.
The inexistence of number portability, the non-availability of caller location information for 112 emergency calls or the lack of a broadband strategy are also amongst the difficulties Romania will have to resolve. I am of course always available for a close dialogue with the Romanian government and the Romanian telecoms regulator to give EU support, where possible.
Cette plateforme qui centralisera - comme c'est déjà le cas - tous les appels d'urgence 15 - 18 et 112, est dotéé de nouvelles fonctions et permettra aux équipes médicales de régulation et aux pompiers de connaître à tout moment la nature des interventions ainsi que les moyens humains et matériels engagés.
Under the intiative of Members of the European Parliament, the first European 112 Day took place on 11.2.2008. A press conference was held at the European Parliament.
Under the intiative of EENA and with the support of sponsors, a 112 information campaign took place at the International Brussels Airport on 11.2.2008 at the occasion of the European 112 Day
EC figures show no improvement of the 112 knowledge within 8 years!
Belgium - The Center answering calls to 100 of Namur sent a complaint along with other centers on the financing of centers answering 100.
Bulgaria's Disaster Management Ministry said on January 31 it was accepting applications to fill 12 vacancies for the 112 emergency hotline operators in the southwestern part of the country.
The growth in VoIP is presenting a whole new set of challenges for the emergency services, as BAPCO Journal found out recently. Dan Worth reports from The London Fire Brigade Training Centre, the location for the South East Region conference, "What does VoIP offer?".
There is complete budget chaos in the introduction of a central 112 emergency number, mediapool.bg reported on November 16.
In Switzerland, less citizens call 118 by mistake since new measures have been implemented.
Bucarest - The Minister of Communications and Information Technologies, Karoly Borbely, presented a memorandum on the European Emergency Number 112.
Sofia. Unexpectedly, troubled Bulgarians in Hungary managed to call emergency number 112 in Sofia, the press office of the Ministry of State Policy for Disasters and Accidents announced.
In January 2008, the installation of Bulgaria's national 112 emergency number system would start with the installation of regional centres in Rousse, Bourgas, Varna, Montana and Plovdiv, a media statement from the Disaster Management Ministry said.
The European Commission was closely following the introduction of the united European emergency line 112 in Bulgaria and kept in touch with the Bulgarian authorities in order to take care that the line was introduced as soon as possible, Ministry of State Policy for Disasters and Accidents informed.
The EU has delayed releasing controversial proposals that would have made it easier for patients to travel abroad within the bloc for health care.
A new lobby group has been set up in an attempt to influence the regulation of Internet telephony in Europe.
European Commission's (EC) Communications Regulation Committee was preparing a questionnaire to request detailed information from all member states, including Bulgaria, regarding the introduction of the single European emergency number 112.
This documentary was broadcasted in the show "Envoyé Spécial" on France 2, French public TV Channel. It describes the issues related to emergency management in France.
Municipalities declared a state of emergency on purpose, even at the slightest rain so as to claim money from the state budget, Disaster Management Minister Emel Etem said on December 11 on Bulgarian National Television (BNT).
The answer of the European Commission follows a letter sent by EENA in which some problems related to multilingualism and awareness of 112 in Italy were revealed.
Belgium - 75% of emergency calls to 100 are non-appropriate calls.
From the 8th September 2008 VoIP providers will be required to allow users to make 999 / 112 emergency calls.
The Ponta Delgada Public Prosecutor in the Azores has ordered in inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the lack of assistance supplied to a 37-year old British woman who tried and failed on seven occasions to report her ordeal to 112 emergency number operators.
The European Commission has referred Poland and Latvia to the European Court of Justice and has opened an infringement proceeding against Romania to ensure that the single European emergency call number 112 works properly also in these countries.
The Commission will adopt a new coherent framework for cross-border healthcare. The draft directive clarifies to patients whether and under what circumstances they can choose providers abroad.