By Martin Banks - 11th February 2008
A cross-party group of MEPs have thrown their weight behind a campaign to raise public awareness of the European emergency number 112.
ALDE member Diana Wallis said, “The European emergency number was introduced across the EU over 15 years ago so it is about time national authorities and European institutions start raising awareness of it, and evaluating how appropriately 112 calls are handled in the member states."
Speaking in parliament on Monday on the first European day to mark the number, she said, "With people becoming increasingly mobile throughout the EU, this is clearly an issue which affects us all."
"However, member states are still not showing the necessary enthusiasm to take this issue forward.
Finnish centre-right member Piia-Noora Kauppi, who spoke at the same news conference, said,“We need to coordinate our efforts to make sure that calls to 112 are located, answered in several languages and that emergency services arrive on time at the place of the accident.
"I am therefore expecting the commission's proposals on these issues.“
She said that whereas in some countries, the emergency services are able to locate calls to 112 and provide an answer in several languages, others still have not implemented any location and multilingual systems.
"In Finland we have standards for the maximal intervention time of emergency services, for multilingual support of answering calls and our operators follow an extensive one year training to be able to cope with their stressful job. I hear that in other countries this is not the case.
"This clearly means that Finnish people and their Scandinavian neighbours who apply similar standards are less well protected when visiting some of the other EU states.
"This is unacceptable by all means and the commission should certainly do something about it."
Polish EPP-ED deputy Jacek Saryusz-Wolski said, "The 112 emergency number represents to me the essence of the idea of the EU - full integration and unity.
"Every single citizen can dial this number in case of an emergency in every single EU member state and receive assistance. In my home town, for example, just recently a four-year-old boy saved his mother's life by dialling this number."
German ALDE MEP Alexander Alvaro said: "All EU citizens should know that the emergency number 112 exists and how to use it.
"This is necessary in case of an accident and can save lives."
Irish deputy Kathy Sinnott: "How is it possible that two-thirds of Europeans still do not know a number that can save their lives?
"Since its creation in 1991, no evaluation has been conducted at European level in order to understand the loopholes and the needs for improvements.
“Are children taught how to use the 112? Are emergency services in Europe able to answer their requests? Are they able to send rescue to deaf persons or people speaking another language?"
Greek Socialist MEP Stavros Arnaoutakis commented: " I come from a country that welcomes a significant amount of tourists yearly. It is therefore our duty, to our own citizens too, to do what we can to support and develop 112 in all Europe."
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