European 112 Day is an international day that is annually held on 11 February. It was introduced by the European Union and aims to promote the existence and appropriate use of the Europe-wide emergency number 112.
European 112 Day is an international day that is annually held on 11 February. It was introduced by the European Union and aims to promote the existence and appropriate use of the Europe-wide emergency number 112.
In addition to the national emergency telephone numbers, the Europe-wide emergency telephone number 112 was introduced in 1991 in order to make a common emergency call available in every member state of the European Union. Since December 2008, the emergency call services can be reached from all fixed and mobile networks and free of charges with the common telephone number 112. Due to the rising publicity of 112 as the European emergency number, it is turning into a common symbol of help and support, but also of the European Union in general.[ citation needed ]
The European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission signed a tripartite convention in 2009 in order to introduce an annual European 112-day. It is supposed to raise awareness for the Europe-wide availability and the advantages of the European emergency call 112. They chose 11 February since the date includes the telephone number (11/2). [1] The idea of dedicating one particular day to the European emergency call had been first discussed in the European Parliament in 2007 in the context of the preparations of the Declaration of the European Parliament on the European emergency call number 112. [2] The overall necessity of increasing the awareness level of the European emergency number has been confirmed by the Flash Eurobarometer 228 from February 2008: Only 22% of all respondents, on EU-average, knew that the emergency telephone number 112 is valid and available in the entire European Union. Merely 6% in the United Kingdom and 14% in Ireland were aware of this fact. [3] This impression was further affirmed in 2009 (EU-average 24%, United Kingdom 8%, Ireland 9%) [4] and 2010 (EU-average 25%, United Kingdom 8%, Ireland 18%) with minor increases. [5]
A lot of actions are taking place around Europe every year to celebrate European 112 Day. Some are organized by politicians and government officials, other by rescue services, firefighters and Non-governmental organizations. In 2018, a whole variety of events dedicated to the common European emergency call were arranged in at least 23 member states of the European Union as well as in Georgia, Kosovo and Iceland. [6] In Germany, the supercentenarian Edelgard Huber von Gersdorff, who is 112 years old and currently the oldest German woman, became honorary patroness of the campaign "One Europe – one number!", which aims at raising awareness for the European Emergency Number 112. [7] In Belgium, the Manneken Pis, one of the most well-known landmarks of Brussels, was dressed up in a costume with the European flag and the number 112 on it by the campaign "European Emergency Number Association". [8] In Ireland, the emergency number was promoted at the annual Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition by the Emergency Call Answering Service (ECAS). [9] Many other representatives and associations of national emergency rescue services, like the National Federation of Firefighters of France (FNSPF), [10] the Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia [11] and the Luxembourg Rescue Services Agency, [12] took different actions in order to educate the general public about the significance and the appropriate use of the European emergency call. European 112 Day 2018 has also been a major subject in the social media; with hashtags like #112day2018 and #Isupport112 going viral.
In 2021, the campaign aimed to thank the emergency services for their unconditional work. The hashtags #112Day2021 and #thankyouchain went viral on social networks and were a trend on Twitter all day. [13]
An emergency telephone number is a number that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency number differs from country to country; it is typically a three-digit number so that it can be easily remembered and dialed quickly. Some countries have a different emergency number for each of the different emergency services; these often differ only by the last digit.
999 is an official emergency telephone number in a number of countries which allows the caller to contact emergency services for emergency assistance. Countries and territories using the number include Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, Eswatini, Ghana, Guernsey, Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Kenya, Macau, Malaysia, Mauritius, Poland, Qatar, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, Seychelles, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe.
Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion surveys conducted regularly on behalf of the European Commission and other EU institutions since 1973. These surveys address a wide variety of topical issues relating to the European Union throughout its member states.
In the United Kingdom, telephone numbers are administered by the Office of Communications (Ofcom). For this purpose, Ofcom established a telephone numbering plan, known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, which is the system for assigning telephone numbers to subscriber stations.
000 Emergency, also known as Triple Zero or Triple 0, and sometimes stylised Triple Zero (000), is the primary national emergency telephone number in Australia and Australian External Territories. The Emergency Call Service is operated by Telstra, and overseen by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), and is intended only for use in life-threatening or time-critical emergencies.
112 is a common emergency telephone number that can be dialed free of charge from most mobile telephones, and in some countries, fixed telephones in order to reach emergency services.
119 (one-one-nine) is an emergency telephone number in parts of Asia and in Jamaica. From May 2020, 119 was introduced in the United Kingdom as the single non-emergency number for the COVID-19 testing helpline in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. From January 2022, 119 was introduced in Romania as the single non-emergency number for reporting cases of abuse, neglect, exploitation and any other form of violence against the child.
The Czech Republic is bound to adopt the euro in the future and to join the eurozone once it has satisfied the euro convergence criteria by the Treaty of Accession since it joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. The Czech Republic is therefore a candidate for the enlargement of the eurozone and it uses the Czech koruna as its currency, regulated by the Czech National Bank, a member of the European System of Central Banks, and does not participate in European Exchange Rate Mechanism II.
Poland does not use the euro as its currency. However, under the terms of their Treaty of Accession with the European Union, all new Member States "shall participate in the Economic and Monetary Union from the date of accession as a Member State with a derogation", which means that Poland is obliged to eventually replace its currency, the złoty, with the euro.
Lithuania does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. A bill to grant same-sex couples some limited legal rights and benefits is pending in the Seimas.
Bulgaria plans to adopt the euro and become the 21st member state of the eurozone. The Bulgarian lev has been on a currency board since 1997, with a fixed exchange rate initially against the Deutsche Mark and subsequently its replacement the euro. Bulgaria's target date for introduction of the euro was 1 January 2025. However, the 2024 ECB convergence report concluded that Bulgaria did not meet the convergence criteria due to high inflation, so this timeline has been delayed. The Bulgarian National Bank and several Bulgarian politicians have expressed their desire to join as soon as possible, and project that inflation will be low enough by the end of 2024. If Bulgaria adopts the euro, it will become the second national currency of the country after the lev, which was introduced over 140 years ago. The fixed exchange rate is 1.95583 lev for 1 euro.
Romania's national currency is the leu. After Romania joined the European Union (EU) in 2007, the country became required to replace the leu with the euro once it meets all four euro convergence criteria, as stated in article 140 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. As of 2023, the only currency on the market is the leu and the euro is not yet used in shops. The Romanian leu is not part of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, although Romanian authorities are working to prepare the changeover to the euro. To achieve the currency changeover, Romania must undergo at least two years of stability within the limits of the convergence criteria.
The fire services in the United Kingdom operate under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
Telephone numbers in Europe are managed by the national telecommunications authorities of each country. Most country codes start with 3 and 4, but some countries that by the Copenhagen criteria are considered part of Europe have country codes starting on numbers most common outside of Europe.
Telephone numbers in Italy are managed by the Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (AGCOM), a national regulatory authority for the communication industry located in Rome.
On 20 January 2014, a Britten-Norman Islander light aircraft belonging to the Superior School of Aviation in Romania operating Flight 111 crashed in the Apuseni Mountains at an altitude of approximately 1,400 metres (4,600 ft), near the village of Petreasa, between Alba and Cluj counties. The aircraft was piloted by two crew and was transporting a five-person medical team from Bucharest to Oradea. The pilot and a medical student died, while the copilot and four medical doctors were injured.
Dita Charanzová is a Czech politician, consultant and former senior civil servant, focusing on European Union issues. She has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since July 2014 and its vice-president since July 2019.
Advanced Mobile Location is a free-of-charge emergency location-based service (LBS) available on smartphones that, when a caller dials the local short dial emergency telephone number, sends the best available geolocation of the caller to a dedicated end-point, usually a Public Safety Answering Point, making the location of the caller available to emergency call takers in real-time. AML improves the time taken by emergency call takers to verify the location of callers and can improve the time taken to dispatch an emergency response.
Next Generation 112 (NG112) is a blueprint for emergency communications which are entirely based on Internet Protocol (IP) technology, from the citizen requesting help to the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) responding to that request. Over the last decade or so, publicly available electronic communications network providers have started their respective journeys toward migrating to Next-generation networks. Network rollouts are more advanced in some countries than others but by the end of the 2020s, networks will be predominantly IP-based providing a platform for innovative multimedia communications. In mobile networks this will be based on 4G and 5G technology and most voice communications will be based on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Public authorities need to respond to these developments so that PSAPs are equipped to receive emergency communications originating on many different types of devices and applications. NG112 provides the basis for this as a flexible, scalable and future-proofed platform for emergency communications.