Brussels, 16/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has called on the 14 member states yet to do so to activate the Europe-wide 116 000 hotline, which provides a single number for reporting missing children and help and support for their parents. The hotline was set up by the Commission in 2007 and, under the new European telecoms regulations adopted in November 2009, member states are required to make sure the hotline is operational by 25 May 2011. The 14 countries are: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia and Sweden. The hotline is currently only partially operational in the United Kingdom.
The report “Dial 116 000: The European hotline for missing children” which the Commission will adopt this Wednesday, 17 November, is its final call to the 14 member states to activate the hotline as a matter of urgency.
In its report, the Commission identifies obstacles to full implementation of the hotline, such as the lack of information to the public and operators, and cost. To tackle these problems, the Commission offers examples of best practice from the countries where the hotline is already up and running. These include: - multilingual service provision; - targeted training for operators; - cooperation agreements between service providers and judicial authorities.
The Commission proposes using these best practices to work out a set of common minimum standards in order to guarantee a high quality service. It will hold high level meetings with all stakeholders every year until the hotline is operational in all 27 member states. These meetings will take place around 25 May every year to mark International Missing Children's Day and to express solidarity with missing children and their families. (G.B./transl.rt)