On the occasion of European 112 Day (11 February), MEP Grégory Allione from the Renew Europe group, in partnership with EENA organised an event on “Strengthening Resilience and Crisis Management: How to Promote EU Coordination and Better Define the Role of 112?” at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. This event was held in advance of the first meeting of the new European Parliament Intergroup on Resilience, Disaster Management and Civil Protection, which took place on 13 February.

As part of this event and debate, EENA launched and presented its 2025 112 Recommendations Report, which outlines recent developments and recommendations for emergency services and policymakers in emergency communications.

The debate focused on crisis preparedness, resilience, and European cooperation in civil protection, and provided MEPs including Grégory Allione (Renew, France) Matej Tonin (EPP, Slovenia), Pascal Arimont (EPP, Belgium) and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (Renew, Ireland) with an opportunity to engage with representatives of emergency services and firefighters, including:

  • Milan Dubravac, President of the International Technical Committee for Fire Prevention and Extinction
  • Éric Flores and Christophe Marchal, Vice Presidents of the French National Federation of Firefighters; and
  • Henning Schmidtpott, IT Manager at the Freiburg Fire and Rescue Center

According to Grégory ALLIONE, “European resilience depends on better coordination of the Union’s resources and strengthening the 112 emergency number so that it becomes fully operational and part of a broader crisis preparedness strategy.”

During the debate, several key issues were addressed. These included the need for better coordination among Member States to ensure an effective and operational response to future disasters, following the recommendations of the Niinistö Report. The importance of ensuring optimal interoperability between emergency services across EU Member States in cross border areas was discussed.

In addition to this, participants emphasised the critical role of an all of society approach when responding to major crises. This approach should be centred on the mobilisation of firefighting and civil protection volunteers, and on improved preparation, resilience and education among the general population. Participants therefore called on the EU to strengthen the Civil Protection Facility, and to facilitate, and not inhibit, firefighting and civil protection volunteers.

Finally, EENA outlined the important role of technologies such as public warning systems in crisis preparedness and response strategies. In this regard, attending MEPs regretted the continued non-implementation of a functional mobile public warning system by Ireland, Slovakia, Cyprus, Slovenia, Finland, Latvia, and Italy.

In addition to this debate, EENA published and presented its 2025 112 Recommendations report during the event, which outlines recommendations in 14 areas of emergency communications. EENA noted that 112 has grown to be more than a European emergency number, and now covers a wider concept for ensuring that everyone in Europe has access to high quality emergency services, that citizen’s are prepared for emergencies, and that emergency services across Europe cooperate to improve public safety.

EENA outlined four major trends in emergency communications which it identified while developing its 112 Recommendations report. These were continued non-implementation of EU law, the risks and opportunities of the 2G/3G shutdown for eCall and connectivity with 112, the potential impact of new technologies such as AI and emergency satellite communications, and some positive and negative political trends.

EENA also emphasised the added value of the first European Parliament Intergroup on Resilience, Disaster Management and Civil Protection. This intergroup could facilitate conversations on public safety in Europe, and increase pressure on the European Commission and Member States to ensure that EU laws on emergency communication are properly implemented.

The event also included discussions on the impact of Storm Éowyn on access to 112, following an intervention from MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, who represented a rural Irish community affected by the storm.

Ní Mhurchú noted that the storm left over 1 million households, businesses and schools without power for up to two weeks, many of whom also lost access to 112 as cell towers lost power, or were directly damaged by the storm. The impact of this loss of access was most felt in rural areas, where aging populations in particular were unable to receive help. As a result, the Irish MEP asked what concrete measures could be taken to improve the resilience of 112 during such crises.

In response to this, EENA outlined the critical importance of cell tower batteries in ensuring continued functioning of mobile networks following a power failure, and of the future potential of emergency satellite communications to improve the resilience of 112, provided that it did not undermine existing terrestrial rural connectivity. In addition to this, participants emphasised the importance of reestablishing emergency services centres such as fire stations during crises, so that populations could access a physical emergency services node if all else failed.