European Commission signs MoU with ACEA and ERTICO

29 August 2004 - Mr Fabio Colasanti, Director-General at the European Commission’s Information-Society Directorate-General, signed together with the representatives of two other major stakeholders, ERTICO, and ACEA, a Memorandum of Understanding that aims at realising an interoperable, pan-European in-vehicle emergency call, eCall. The MoU, which has now been signed by a number of industrial and public sector stakeholders, provides for a solid basis for the partners to actively contribute to the development and implementation of the eCall in potentially all new vehicles sold in Europe. 

In-vehicle emergency calls (eCall) have the potential to greatly reduce the number of fatalities, severity of injuries and stress in post-crash situations, by speeding up the response of the emergency services.

eCall can be initiated manually or automatically after a crash. It passes relevant information of the accident, including its accurate location, to the emergency services (the Public Service Answering Point). Realising the importance of eCall, the Commission proposed joint Public-Private sector actions for the introduction of eCall in its eSafety Communication in September 2003. Later that year, an industry-led group was established, called the eCall Driving Group. The group has produced a basic framework architecture and business plan for eCall implementation. To move ahead, a parallel commitment and joint effort by the stakeholders is needed.

In signing the MoU, Mr. Colasanti stated: “The European Commission supports this step towards realisation of interoperable in-vehicle eCalls. The MoU gathers together those organisations that agree on the principles for its introduction across Europe and who thus want to accelerate its deployment. I have today signed the MoU and I would encourage all other stakeholders to sign it as soon as possible to show their own commitment to this important work.”