On 8 September 2011, the European Commission adopted a Recommendation addressing the EU Member States and asking them to call on the mobile network operators to set up their networks in a way that they correctly transmit automatic 112 emergency calls generated by cars (eCalls).
The Commission wants the life-saving eCall system to be fitted to all new models of cars and light vehicles from 2015. Currently, only 0.7 % of all passenger vehicles in the EU are equipped with automatic emergency call systems, with numbers barely rising.
The adoption of this Recommendation is the first step of a tripartite legislative process. Later on, legislative initiatives on the eCall device to be fitted into the cars and on the technical specifications of the emergency call centres will follow.
The eCall Recommendation adopted by the European Commission can be found here.
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