European Commission Sends Romania Final Warning On 112 Issue

The Commission added that this is the final step before  a notification of the European Court of Justice.

"In a new round of infringement proceedings for EU Telecoms Rules, the European Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion (the second and final stage before the case is referred to the European Court of Justice) to Bulgaria and Romania. In both countries, the Single European Emergency number 112 is still not functioning properly," said a press release issued by the Commission.

The European Executive said that a single 112 number for emergency, which functions properly, is fundamental for the insurance of safety for EU citizens.

“People caught in an emergency should be easily located when they dial 112 from their phones,” said Viviane Reding, the EU Telecoms Commissioner.

Reding added that the EU telecom norms state that EU members should make sure emergency services can be called free of charge through the single number 112. Member states also need to guarantee that telecom operators supply emergency services with information on the location of the caller.

Even though the 112 number is available in Romania, the warning is sent because information on the location of the caller are still not available for the emergency services when it comes to calls made from mobile devices, the document states.

Official sources told MEDIAFAX that the infringement procedure initiated against Romania continues, because the Commission demands that the 112 number function efficiently.

"Even though the government enacted the emergency ordinance providing financing for the system, the Commission feels that this is not enough, and demands that the mechanism function properly. The 112 system issue continues to be a soft spot in relations with the Commission, and the matter needs to be addressed," the quoted sources said.

The Government announced in march, after enacting an emergency ordinance, that it would finance the national system for emergency calls from the state budget, for five years, with an annual sum of 38 million lei (EUR1 = RON3,704), and would give the Ministry of Communication and the Regulatory Authority additional attributes towards the reduction in false calls.

The minimum fine for fake calls to the single emergency number 112 will increase five times to RON500, while fines for telecom services providers who fail to observe their obligations will increase tenfold to RON100,000.

Abusive use of the 112 emergency call number and prank calls alerting special intervention services will be fined RON500 to RON1,000, according to a recently approved government ordinance.

 The ordinance also sets fines of RON5,000 to RON100,000 for telecom operators who fail to ensure priority transmission for emergency calls and fail to provide the system administrator with subscriber phone number and ID free of charge.
 
The new applicable fines take effect in ten days.
 
IT&C minister Borbely Karoly said last week that 33 million calls of 36 million to the single emergency number 112 in 2007 were false.

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