Given the lack of progress in the deployment of the new in-car communication technology eCall, the Commission noted in a policy document published on August 21st 2009 that regulatory measures to make this life-saving technology available all over Europe as soon as possible could be introduced. In this document, the Commission made a last call to all EU countries to speed up voluntary implementation of the new technology.

The Commission presented on August 21st 2009 a policy document with a strategy, which would start in 2010, for introducing an affordable in-car emergency call system in all new vehicles across Europe by 2014. This document represents the last call to all EU countries to speed up voluntary implementation of the new in-car communication technology eCall.

Triggered automatically, if the passengers cannot do so, eCall could save up to 2 500 lives per year in the EU when fully deployed and reduce severity of injuries by 10 to 15%. The measures proposed by the Commission would ensure that eCall works in all EU countries and in cars of all brands and countries of origin.

Implementing eCall needs the full collaboration of the car and telecoms industries, as well as national administrations in all EU countries who must ensure that their emergency services are equipped to handle eCalls.

The Commission originally called for eCall to be rolled out voluntarily across Europe by 2009 but although the technology is ready and common EU-wide standards have been agreed by industry, the system has been delayed due to lack of support from some EU countries due to cost related concerns.

Preparing phone networks and emergency services for the roll out of eCall in cars across Europe has the full support of the European Parliament and 15 EU countries who have signed the eCall Memorandum of Understanding.

• Member states who have signed eCall MoM: Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden, as well as three other European countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) .
• Member states not committed to eCall based on cost concerns: Denmark, France, Ireland, Latvia, Malta and the UK)
• Member states supporting eCall who will sign MoM in due time: Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Luxembourg, Romania and Poland

Before making eCall fully operational across the EU, countries must agree common standards and guidelines for harmonised deployment of the system and perform field tests putting it into practice (pilots have been launched in some EU countries, including Finland, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Italy, The Netherlands). Through its Competitiveness and Innovation Programme the Commission may financially support such pilots, as well as public awareness campaigns about how the technology works.

The Commission has supported work on eCall through research funding for projects that make sure the technology would work across borders (E-MERGE and GST-Rescue) and industry cooperation within the eSafety Initiative. eCall is one of the priorities of the  Intelligent Car Initiative  and the Intelligent Transport Systems Action Plan promoting the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to achieve a smarter, safer and cleaner road transport.

Road accidents cost the EU economy more than €160 billion a year. Equipping all cars in the EU with the eCall system could save €26 billion annually while the system' is estimated to cost less than €100 per car. Introducing this device will not only benefit consumers, but also businesses by enabling the car and telecoms industries to offer new upgraded applications and services (like digital tachographs or electronic tolls) based on eCall to be installed in all vehicles and use satellite positioning technology.

In the last two years, the EU provided around €160 million for research into ICT for transport, covering safety systems, intelligent vehicle systems and mobility services.