EENA’s newsletter brings you the latest updates in emergency communications.
In this edition, you can read about public warning during Valencia’s floods, emergency call staff’s strike in Portugal, advancements in emergency services and legislation around Europe, our upcoming events and webinars, and much more.
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EENA News
Register now for the EENA 2025 Conference & Exhibition!
Registration is open for the EENA 2025 Conference & Exhibition! Get ready for three days packed with insightful discussions, cutting-edge technologies, and valuable networking opportunities.
Join us at Messukeskus in Helsinki, Finland, on 9-11 April 2025!
Our programme will explore topics related to implementing EU legislation requirements, AI applications, NG112 standards, operational topics, and more.
There’s still time to register for our NG112 & AI DAYS!
Our event on 4-5 December in Santa Cruz de Tenerife highlights key advancements in Next Generation 112 (NG112) and Artificial Intelligence, shaping the future of emergency communications.
The programme will focus on the transition to NG112, exploring the entire implementation process, including roadmaps and essential aspects like accessibility. It will also highlight the role of AI in emergency communications, with insights from EENA’s AI special project and practical solutions for PSAPs, such as noise elimination, detection, triage, and mission-critical communications.
Take a look at the draft programme.
OpEd: Broken warnings, urgent action: Strengthening Europe’s public warning systems
The recent floods in Valencia tragically highlight the critical need for timely public warnings. In an OpEd, EENA’s Executive Director Gary Machado stresses that effective public warning requires clear strategies and protocols, not just technology. Despite the EU’s 2018 mandate for modern systems, many countries lack the procedures for timely activation, as seen in Spain’s case. Failures in public warning, like those during the 2021 floods in Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg, show the dangers of inadequate implementation. Public warning systems are not optional—they are essential for saving lives and maintaining trust.
New document: MCX in Public Safety
Our latest document, MCX in Public Safety, explores Mission Critical Services (MCX) standards and their integration with NG112 to enhance emergency response. It covers MCX standards, certification, infrastructure, and interoperability, with case studies and recommendations for future development. Highlighting advanced LTE/5G and IP-based systems, it shows how these technologies improve communication, situational awareness, response times, and secure data sharing in modern emergencies.
Webinars
Enhancing cardiac emergency responses with volunteer first responders in Europe’s rural areas
12 December at 14:30 CET
Many European regions follow the European Resuscitation Council Guidelines by alerting volunteer first responders (VFRs) near out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs), crucial in the ‘chain of survival.’ While VFR systems work well in urban areas, rural experiences are less understood. This webinar presents research on response times and rural VFR experiences, stressing the need for more recruitment and fire service dispatch in rural areas.
Add to your calendar.
Register here.
Emergency communications around the world
Spain’s floods left over 200 people dead
Spain’s recent floods killed at least 217 people and left many missing, sparking public outrage over Valencia’s emergency response. Critics blame delayed warnings and dismantled emergency frameworks for the tragedy. Despite a red alert issued hours earlier, regional authorities only sent evacuation warnings late in the evening when flooding was already underway. The crisis highlights broader issues with Europe’s climate preparedness. Experts stress the need for timely, clear, and actionable public alerts and better coordination between weather forecasts and emergency responses. The floods underline the importance of trust, communication, and context in warning systems, as well as the challenges posed by climate change, which amplifies the intensity and unpredictability of extreme weather events.
A strike caused delays in 112 emergency calls in Portugal
Portugal’s emergency medical authority INEM’s (Instituto Nacional de Emergência Médica) employees were on strike from 6 November for better career and salary conditions, disrupting emergency services. This caused delays in responses, with some citizens turning to fire stations or firefighters transporting patients without INEM coordination. Multiple deaths have been linked to chronic delays. INEM introduced contingency measures, including automatic triage for calls on hold for over three minutes, additional nurses at call centres, and improved data-sharing from emergency teams. The strike was called off last week after a meeting between the Minister of Health and union representatives.
Read more here (The Portugal News)
Armenia plans to launch a unified 112 emergency number
Armenia plans to launch a unified emergency number, 112, as part of its police reform strategy. The new system will replace the existing 911, 103, and 102 numbers, streamlining emergency services for faster and more efficient responses. A national operational control centre will manage all calls through a single access point. Additionally, the reforms include creating a unified educational complex for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, introducing a single entry channel for police recruitment, and ensuring continuous staff training. These measures are set for full implementation by 2026.
The law introducing AML enters into force in Poland
On 10 November the Electronic Communications Law entered into force in Poland, introducing regulations to improve the situation of consumers in relations with telecommunications companies. The new law introduces the Advanced Mobile Location (AML), which will enable precise information about the location of a person calling the emergency number 112 and other emergency numbers to be transmitted.
Read more here (in Polish, Powiat Pszczyński).
Australian operator Optus faces $12m penalty for emergency call breaches
Optus Pty Limited, a subsidiary of Singtel, has been fined over $12 million for breaching emergency call rules during a nationwide network outage on 8 November 2023. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that 2,145 people lost access to emergency call services, and 369 welfare checks were not conducted. A government review also identified other failings, deeming the outage preventable. The incident has led to regulatory changes across the telecommunications sector, including improved communication during outages, enhanced oversight of emergency call services, and mandatory system testing.
Cyprus plans to merge emergency services under a new crisis management body
Cyprus plans to create a unified emergency response authority by 2025, merging ambulance services, the fire brigade, and civil defence into a single body to improve efficiency and cut costs. Announced by President Nikos Christodoulides, the reform centralises services from three ministries and will manage emergency planning, 112 call coordination, and disaster risk reduction, with support from major political parties DISY and AKEL. The Federation of Patient Associations of Cyprus (CyFPA) has accepted a transitional arrangement, including an advisory committee for private ambulance licensing, but criticised repeated delays.
EENA was here
A glimpse of the recent events EENA has taken part in.
iCERT 2024 Fall Member Meeting
13-14 November 2024, Arlington, VA, United States and online
At the iCERT Fall Meeting, EENA presented the implications of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act on public safety organisations. Adopted earlier this year, the AI Act aims to ensure the safe and ethical use of artificial intelligence within the European Union. The event offered valuable opportunities to explore ways to foster AI innovation while maintaining oversight and control.
Meetings with MEPs
13 November 2024, Brussels, Belgium
EENA recently met with two Members of the European Parliament, Daniel Attard (S&D, Malta) and Grégory Allione (Renew, France), to discuss key initiatives aimed at improving emergency response across the EU. The discussions focused on critical topics such as Advanced Mobile Location (AML), public warning systems, and eCall. This meeting is part of EENA’s broader advocacy efforts to enhance how emergency communications are managed across Europe.
BEREC Network resilience workshop
19 November 2024, Brussels, Belgium
EENA participated in a BEREC workshop on Network Resilience and presented its position on resilient emergency communications to national regulatory authorities and mobile network operators (MNOs) from the EU, EEA and UK. EENA’s presentation emphasised both the need for broad network resilience strategies in telecoms networks, and the need for MNOs to ensure that their strategies for resilience prioritised 112 connectivity. In particular, the presentation highlighted that fallback networks or other mitigating systems which MNOs could activate during a crisis must prioritise 112 calls in a similar manner to the main network.