13 Feb
2014

European travellers face risks abroad

Half of European travellers are unaware they can call “112” in emergencies in all EU countries.

This week the European Commission announced that most Europeans are still unsure about which number they should call in case of emergency in a foreign country.

According to a Eurobarometer survey conducted at the end of January 2014, 49% of Europeans do not know they can use “112” to reach emergency services. Despite years of efforts, ignorance levels remain stuck at around 50%, including for regular travellers.

The citizens most at risk are those from Greece (10%) and United Kingdom (18%). The most aware are in Luxembourg (80%), Romania (71%), Poland and Bulgaria (70%).

European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes has written to all national governments this week to urge them to improve caller location and disabled access features of national 112 systems, and to run advertising campaigns targeted at travellers.

For full details, please visit the European Commission website.