The European Commission decided on Thursday to open a case against Italy on the effectiveness of the single European Union (EU) emergency number 112.
EU telecoms rules require member states make sure that people can call the single European emergency number 112 free of charge nationwide from any type of phone. They must also ensure that 112 calls are answered and handled efficiently and that operators provide information on the caller's location to emergency services.
The commission, the executive body of the EU and guardian of EU laws, is sending a letter of warning to Italy about the effectiveness of 112 calls handling and answering.
The various emergency response systems of many member states, including Italy, run separate call center systems using different numbers. Under EU rules, these member states have to ensure that the handling and answering of 112 calls is as effective as calls made to other national emergency numbers.
In Italy, this is not always the case because call centers of the emergency service in charge of 112 calls cannot transfer callers to the centers of other required emergency services, said the commission.
Meanwhile, the commission also decided to take Bulgaria and Romania to the European Court of Justice for the lack of availability of 112 and for lack of caller location for 112 calls.
However, in view of ongoing efforts in both member states to make 112 fully operational by the end of the year, the commission is delaying the execution of Thursday's decision by three months to give them a last chance to address the matter.
Failure to fully comply with EU telecoms laws by the end of the year will lead to the cases being filed with the European Court of Justice, said the commission.
Despite previous warnings, 112 is still not operational nationwide in Bulgaria. In Romania, caller location, which helps emergency services find accident victims, is not provided for all calls.
"I expect the many political commitments made by Bulgarian and Romanian authorities to guarantee the full functioning of 112 to be taken very seriously," said EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding.
"Their deadline for making 112 fully operational was Jan. 1, 2007. So today's decision to bring both countries before the Court of Justice will be immediately executed if there is the slightest doubt about full respect of EU law at the end of the year," she said.
Source:Xinhua
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