Brussels, 09/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 9 September eCall, the in-car automatic emergency call system, received the full backing of Europe's mobile phone industry. Representatives of the industry's GSM Association underlined their commitment to this life-saving technology by signing the EU's Memorandum of Understanding to implement eCall across Europe. eCall automatically dials 112, Europe's single emergency number , when a car has a serious accident and sends its location to the nearest emergency service - even when passengers do not know or cannot say where they are. Rolling out eCall requires close cooperation between public authorities, car companies and mobile phone operators. The commissioner for telecoms welcomed the mobile phone industry's “social responsibility” but criticised the fact that “six member states have still not signed the eCall Memorandum of Understanding - Denmark, France, Ireland, Latvia, Malta and the United Kingdom”. Viviane Reding warned them that “they should now take their foot off the brake and speed up the introduction of a system that can save lives. Otherwise, the Commission will need to propose legislation next year". The Commission believes that once operational, eCall could save up to 2,500 lives each year in the EU when fully deployed, and reduce the severity of injuries by 10-15%. (O.L./transl.rh)