Celebrate 118, Sorry I mean 112!

If you've been living in a cave since 1991, when the 112 emergency telephone number was introduced, then you might have missed the festivities to celebrate that back in January 2008 a mere 22 per cent of EU citizens knew they could dial 112 anywhere in Europe, BUT now thanks to tireless campaigning that this figure has jumped to 24 per cent. So, did you miss it? I'm afraid I did. What with everything else going on in the world I was just too busy to celebrate the first European 112 Day.


Never mind, there's always European 112 Day 2010 to look forward to showing that Europe delivers significant results for its citizens.

In case you are interested the European Union Council Decision on 112 was adopted in 1991 when Members States were requested to introduce the single European emergency number 112. Following this in March 2002 the Universal Service Directive was adopted. The EU Commission sees 112 as one of the key instruments for the free movement for citizens within the EU. This was why 112 was created in 1991 and has been progressively introduced in all EU countries, with the current exception of Bulgaria (for some unexplained reason).

They can try to take our pounds, try to take our ounces, try to take our yards, try take our miles but they will never take our 999!