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Legislation concerning the 112
The European emergency number 112 was established by Council Decision of 29 July 1991. All the Member States of the European Communities were obliged to introduce the 112 by 1996.
Today, the 112 is governed by the Universal Service Directive for telecommunications which was adopted in March 2002. The Directive further detailed requirements concerning the 112:
- Free of charge: Member States must ensure that users of fixed and mobile telephones, including payphones, are able to call the 112 free of charge.
- No discrimination: calls to the 112 must be appropriately answered and handled. Some Member States (Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands) have introduced the 112 as their single emergency number, while in most Member States the 112 operates alongside national emergency numbers.
- Caller location: Member States must also ensure that emergency services are able to establish the location of the person calling the 112. The ability to locate the caller in case of an emergency may be of great significance in a situation where the person is unable to state his or her location, which can happen particularly when calling from mobile phones or while travelling abroad.
- Raising awareness: all EU countries must inform their citizens about the existence of the 112 and how to use it.
Ongoing Telecoms Reform: As part of the broader reform of the EU telecommunications rules, the Commission has adopted in 2008 a series of proposals aiming at reviewing the legislation concerning the 112.
Council decision (1991) (137KB)