The PSAP Directory is a single source reference for PSAPs in EU countries. This database of long-numbers ensures that emergency services can communicate across borders.

Please note EENA used to refer to the PSAP Directory as the Transnational Database: this page will use the term PSAP Directory.

What is it?

The PSAP Directory ensures that emergency services in one country can contact emergency services in another country, by providing a single contact point per country.

Without this number, it is impossible, or it takes an exceptionally long time to enter into contact with emergency services on the other side of Europe.

At present, 24 CEPT countries have signed up to the database.

Unfortunately, some countries still do not provide this long-number and this can delay emergency operations. In emergency situations – when every second counts – not being part of this database could be fatal for citizens in distress.

brief history

 

Since 2009, EENA has been working to make sure that emergency services can communicate between different countries. The proposal arose from representatives of London Ambulance Service (UK) and 112 Canary Islands (Spain).

After that, EENA started to manage a database of long-numbers (E164 numbers), enabling emergency services to contact a single contact point in another country.

However, it became crucial to protect the data and secure this database. To this end, EENA reached out to the Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications (CEPT).

After some negotiation, it was agreed that the CEPT’s permanent office, the European Communications Office (ECO), would establish and securely manage a new database of long numbers for PSAPs across Europe.

EU LEGISLATION

 

EENA and the Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications (CEPT) worked to have this PSAP Directory of numbers enshrined in EU Legislation.

Since 2018, The European Electronic Communications Code (Directive 2018/ 1972/EC) Article 109(8) declares that: “A Union-wide, secure database of numbers for a lead emergency service in each country should therefore be introduced. To that end, BEREC should maintain a secure database of E.164 numbers of Member State emergency service numbers, if such a database is not maintained by another organisation…”

success stories

 

Since the PSAP Directory was set up, emergency services in many countries have been able to help citizens not only nationally but also across Europe.

These successful international stories show the importance of this database in improving and accelerating emergency response between European countries.

In January 2020, a young woman called 112 Lithuania to report that her sister in Sweden contacted her by SMS saying that her boyfriend and his friend tried to rape her. The Emergency Response Centre of 112 Lithuania called SOS Alarm (Sweden) using the transnational database and reported the situation to SOS Alarm’s call-taker.
Lithuania/Sweden
In February 2019, a call-taker from Czechia (Olomouc region) managed to save the life of a Czech truck driver in the UK. A Czech transit firm called 112 in Czechia saying that one of his employees had a major health problem in a parking lot in the UK. The Czech operator managed to contact the London Ambulance Service. Last year, the same call-taker saved a Czech citizen living in the UK who had taken an overdose.
Czechia/UK
In September 2018, a call taker in Slovenia received an emergency call from a caretaker in Croatia. 2 adults with Down syndrome got lost on a walk in nature. The caretakers had been searching for the lost people for hours. The call-taker from 112 Slovenia managed to locate the phone of one of the people and shared the location information with the Croatian mountain rescue team.
Tadas Maroscikas112 Lithuania
In July 2017, the 112 PSAP in Sofia received an emergency call from a Greek mobile phone number. A woman explained that she was in a group of twelve immigrants that were supposed to be transferred from Greece to Italy in a truck. However, the truck had stopped for more than 5 hours and the woman had no idea where they were. The call-taker managed to understand where the group was and alerted the police and border services. The authorities found the group and everybody was rescued.
Bulgaria/Greece
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How can countries join this PSAP Directory?

 

The PSAP Directory is managed by the European Communications Office (ECO). For any questions please feel free to contact Mr. Vassil Krastev, Numbering and Networks Expert at ECO.

Email: [email protected]

 

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