Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that the European Emergency number 112 will be operational from 1 January 2020.
112 is the emergency number in all 28 EU member states, as well as other European countries and elsewhere. People in danger can call 112 24/7 to reach the fire brigade, medical assistance and the police.
The Prime Minister made the announcement following his meeting at the Fire Brigade's operations coordination centre at the Athens suburb of Halandri, where he was briefed by the Digital E-governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis and Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrissohoidis and by the General Secretary for Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias.
Mitsotakis expressed his satisfaction over the fact 112 will operate very soon, noting that he has pledged that the lost time will be covered.
He stressed that the timetables have been met and the system will start its operation from 1 January 2020.
"One of the direct repercussions of the climate change will be the extreme weather and natural phenomena and we must be at a high level of alertness. It is entirely clear that we must be at a different level of organisation and readiness."
The European emergency number is free and can be reached by landlines as well as mobiles. The increased levels of Europeans travelling within the EU led to the Council of the EU introducing a common emergency number in all states to avoid the need of remembering different national numbers depending on one’s location.
