Ministry of the Interior and Administration https://archiwum.mswia.gov.pl/en/news/568,European-112-Day.html 2021-09-27, 20:41

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Publication date 10.02.2009

European 112 Day

In accordance with the declaration of the EU institutions – the Council of the , the and the –11 February 2009 was established as European 112 Day.

The European emergency number 112, active across the whole European Union, plays a key role in ensuring citizens’ safety. The European emergency number 112 is increasingly becoming the basic number to call in order to request help for the aggrieved persons.

The telephone number 112 is a single European emergency number, active in all the EU Member States for different kinds of hazards.

The telephone number 112 does not replace national emergency numbers, but complement the available emergency numbers, regardless of where we are in the EU. Therefore, every citizen should have it stored in the address book in their telephones.

According to Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media, efforts to establish one single emergency number have become one of the priorities of the European Commission. EU citizens come first for us, and the EU has to ensure their safety in the same way it guaranteed their freedom of movement in 27 Member States. According to the EU Commissioner Reding, the common European emergency number has been established in Europe, which is an important outcome of European cooperation, to help European citizens in their daily lives.

'In the last five years we pitched up and worked hard together with all the EU Member States in order to guarantee that the citizens would be able to use the emergency number 112 both from a landline and a mobile phone. And although, at times, we had to threaten the governments and resolve issues through the court system, when the governments were not fulfilling their obligations, but we always had in mind the interests of EU citizens,’ said Reding, in relation to European 112 Day.

The Commission has included in its 112 website a section meant for children. The goal is to familiarise children with the emergency number 112 and its usefulness through play. Viviane Reding was greatly impressed by a four-year-old boy from Poland who received an award from the European Emergency Number Association last year for saving his mother's life by dialling 112. In October 2007, Krystian Drozdek, a three-year-old from Łódź, saved his ill mother by calling the emergency number 112. His brave act and civic conduct were awarded in June 2008 in . However, there is still a lot to be done, as the survey conducted by the European Commission indicates that only 24% of EU citizens identify 112 as the number to be called in case of emergency anywhere in the EU. Today, on 11 February, for the first time, the European Commission celebrates European 112 Day, together with the European Parliament and the Czech presidency of the EU. - ‘I hope that this day will be true reveille for the national bodies in all 27 EU Member States. All citizens should be adequately informed about 112 so that they will feel safe when travelling across the EU,’ said, inter alia, Viviane Reding.

Up-to-date information concerning the operation of the European Emergency Number 112 is available at the website address http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/112/index_en.htm, whereas in Poland, updates on the emergency number 112 can be found, among others, in the portal: www.112.gov.pl. On 3 November 2008, an international conference dedicated to the emergency number 112 was held in the Main School of Fire Service in Warsaw. The meeting - a joint initiative of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) and the EPP-ED group in the European Parliament - was opened by Witold Drożdż, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Interior and Administration.

‘We are meeting at the special time when the implementation of the emergency number 112 is taking place – at the legislative, organizational and technical level. One of the priority goals of the Ministry of Interior and Administration as well as the Polish government is to ensure that Poland will be among the top countries providing the best 112 services,' said Minister Drożdż. He also emphasised that the conference was the best occasion to have a broad discussion on the chances, problems and experiences of other countries, with regard to the emergency number 112.

The European Commission aims at establishing the emergency number 112, side by side with the common European flag and currency, as a characteristic symbol of the European Union.

In comparison to other EU Member States, the emergency number 112 is well-known in Poland. Undoubtedly, the awareness of the emergency number 112 would not be so extensive without educational actions. The Ministry of Interior and Administration recognises the promotion of the emergency number 112 as one of its priority goals.

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