On 23 April, EENA, the European Disability Forum, the European Blind Union, the Cyprus Confederation of Organisations of the Disabled, the Polish Disability Forum, and the Malta Federation of Organisations for People with Disabilities published an open letter calling for increased accessibility in emergency communications.

Among others, Blind and partially sighted people, people with intellectual disabilities, people with speech disabilities, as well as other users may have difficulties in communicating certain information, particularly location information, while calling 112.

One of the most effective means to improve the accessibility of 112 for these groups has been the introduction of advanced caller location in 24 EU Member States. Advanced caller location automatically transmits the caller’s location to emergency services when they contact 112, halving the time for emergency services to reach people in distress.

Due to its effectiveness, this technology was mandated for all EU Member States by Article 109 of the European Electronic Communications (EECC) Code. However, more than four years after the deadline for implementing this technology, three Member States, Poland, Cyprus, and Malta, have not implemented this technology. In addition, in eleven EU Member States, caller location has not been implemented in all emergency numbers other than 112, or in all accessibility features. This is a clear violation of the European Electronic Communications Code.

This open letter, which has been sent to the three EU Member States which do not have AML, the eleven EU Member States without caller location in their accessible alternatives to 112, and to the European Commission and MEPs, will call for:

  1. Poland, Cyprus and Malta to immediately implement advanced caller location to improve accessibility for blind and partially sighted people, and people with intellectual disabilities.
  2. For the 24 Member States with AML to ensure that this service functions on all of their other emergency numbers, where these exist.
  3. For the European Commission to monitor the situation and use available tools to enforce European legislation, including infringement procedures.
  4. All Member States to ensure that their accessible means to contact 112 include advanced caller location.
  5. Member States ensure that disability is mainstreamed into their emergency communications protocols, including through training for call handlers, and by ensuring that communications use clear, accessible language.

The open letter is available here.