February 11th: “European 112 Day”

To ensure that 112 is known all over Europe, the European Commission, together with the European Parliament and Council, have declared February 11th the “European 112 Day”. This declaration follows the results brought up by an EU-wide survey which shows some differences between Member States in the 112 service implementation. In this sense, Commission and Member States will step up their efforts to publicise 112, especially before the summer holiday period.

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.

An EU-wide survey conducted for the European Commission shows that 94% of EU citizens think it is useful to have a single emergency number available in the EU. The Eurobarometer survey published on the occasion of the “European 112 Day” also highlighted areas where there is still room for improvement:

  • Language problems: 28% of callers have language problems when they call 112 while abroad, despite the fact that information provided by 21 Member States indicates that their 112 emergency centres should be able to handle 112 calls in English (12 Member States in German and 11 Member States in French).
  • Awareness of 112: Overall, only 24% of surveyed Europeans could spontaneously identify 112 as the number on which they can call emergency services anywhere in the EU. This is a 2% improvement since February 2008 but knowledge of the EU's emergency number varies greatly between countries, from 3% in Italy to 58% in the Czech Republic. Many Member States are informing their citizens and visitors about 112, with action such as welcome text message informing them about 112, advertisements on motorways and toll gates, train stations and airports, or media campaigns organised before the travel season informing citizens about 112.

The Eurobarometer survey also showed that a quarter of EU citizens have called an emergency number in the last five years, and that the majority of calls are still made from fixed lines (while 53% of calls were made from a fixed line, there was an increase in emergency calls made from mobile phones: 45% compared to 42% in 2008).

Moreover, the European Commission launched a new 112 website in June 2008 to inform citizens about how 112 works in all EU Member States in time for the summer holidays. The website has now been updated with the latest information about the best practices and the shortcomings in implementing 112 and with an interactive section dedicated to children.

The European Commission follows the implementation of 112 in Member States in particular through the "Communication Committee", a body that unites the representatives of Member State authorities responsible for telecommunications. The Commission has also set up an "Expert Group on Emergency Access" of national officials representing emergency response centres, civil protection and telecoms authorities. This group seeks practical solutions to problems experienced by the emergency services at local, regional or national levels and deals with issues related to the application of new technologies for communication with emergency services.

"The European emergency number should no longer be Europe’s best kept secret. We have a single emergency number, 112, that works for every emergency and every Member State and every citizen that needs it. But it is unacceptable that less than a quarter of citizens are aware of 112, or that language barriers prevent travellers calling 112 from communicating with the emergency operator," said EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding. "The EU must work to guarantee the safety of our 500 million citizens with the same intensity as we have worked to guarantee their ability to travel freely across the borders of 27 countries. Europe's first 112 day should act as a wake up call to national authorities who need to improve the number of languages available in their 112 emergency centres and boost awareness about this life-saving number."

112 Emergency Number

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

To ensure 112 is put in place, the Commission has launched 17 infringement proceedings against 15 countries due to a lack of availability of 112, caller location or appropriate call handling. Most of these have been closed following corrective measures.

While 112 complements existing national emergency numbers, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and most recently Romania have decided to make 112 their main national emergency number. In other countries, 112 is the only emergency number for certain emergency services (such as Estonia and Luxembourg for ambulances or fire brigades).