Five more countries for eCall - 4th May 2010

Creation date: 05 May 2010

The European Commission has welcomed five more Member States endorsing the eCall in-vehicle emergency system. This life-saving system automatically dials Europe's single emergency number 112 in the event of a serious accident and could save up to 2500 lives per year in Europe when fully deployed.

At a ceremony in Brussels on 4 May Belgium, Denmark, Luxemburg, Malta and Romania signed the EU's Memorandum of Understanding to implement eCall across Europe, joining 15 other European countries and 3 other European countries which have committed to deploying eCall (Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden Iceland, Norway and Switzerland). European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes was present at the event: " I am very pleased that 20 Member States are now signing up to deploy eCall. This system is an excellent example of how information and communications technologies can improve and even save the lives of citizens ”.

European Commission Vice-President for Transport Siim Kallas said "The eCall system can save many road users' lives every year and I am therefore delighted that an increasing number of Member States are now committed to putting the system in place". The Memorandum was also signed on 4 May by additional organisations, namely Agoria, ATX, Belgian Automobile Club Touring, DEKRA, Electronics Solutions, European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), EUROSMART, GMV, ITS Belgium, National Company of Motorways and National Roads from Romania, OctoTelematics, Romanian-American University, Special Telecommunications Service (STS), UTI Systems. The system has received formal backing of 90 signatories, including GSM Association and ACEA.