29/03/2018 (Agence Europe) – As from 31 March, the equipping of the eCall system will become compulsory on new vehicles such as passenger cars and light utility vehicles. This eCall system will enable the emergency 112 number to be called automatically in the event of an accident in EU territory. Through the use of the Galileo and EGNOS systems, this mechanism will also help to geo-locate the vehicle involved in the accident, so that a rescue operation can take place as soon as possible. Road users will also be able to trigger the system manually. The vehicle data will also be protected and will only be used in responding to emergency situations within the necessary time-limit. This new obligation is the result of the adoption of regulation 2015/758 by the European Parliament (see EUROPE 11304) and the Council of the European Union (see EUROPE 11265), in 2015. (LT)