Brussels, 15/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - People can now reach emergency services from anywhere in the EU simply by dialling 112, the European Commission was pleased to state on Monday 15 December. The Commission announced that the two member states which still had problems - Bulgaria and Romania - have now put the necessary procedures in place to access this number. “There is still work to be done by the EU member states but the first target of having a single emergency number has been achieved. (…) Now we can see how the European of results can help people in everyday life”, said Viviane Reding, Telecommunications Commissioner.
The number 112 is now available in Bulgaria which has made a great effort to catch up with the other member states since infringement procedure was launched by the Commission in October 2007. The Commission had decided on 18 September to refer the matter to the Court of Justice but postponed referral by three months to allow Bulgaria to finalise its implementation plan. Caller location is available and Bulgaria will deploy an awareness campaign to make the public more aware of 112 usage. In September 2008, the Commission had also granted Romania three more months for ensuring that caller location is operational via mobile phones. After verifying the information, the Commission announced it was able to close both procedures early 2009. (I.L./transl.jl)