Germany and Austria sign the eCall MoU

Creation date: 07 June 2007

Two more EU Member States – Germany and Austria - signed the eCall Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). With their signature on 5 June at a German Presidency eSafety Conference in Berlin, Austria and Germany have committed themselves to actively support the timely implementation of eCall, the automatic notification system for road accidents that could save 2,500 lives annually when fully deployed in Europe. This brings to 9 the number of EU Member States that have committed themselves to eCall: Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, Austria and Germany. Switzerland, Norway and Iceland have also signed.

"I welcome that with the support of the German Presidency, two more Member States are now joining our eCall initiative, bringing the total number of countries to 12," said Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for the Information Society and Media. "We have clearly achieved critical mass today. I now urge industry to keep to the timetable for equipping all new cars with eCall by 2010. I furthermore sincerely hope that at the European Commission's next public event on the Intelligent Car in Versailles on 18 September, other Member States will join eCall. When the safety of our citizens is at stake, neither industry nor public administrations should shy away from their responsibilities."

In November 2006, the European Commission called for further efforts to make sure eCall was brought back on track. It called for Member States that have not yet signed the eCall MoU to catch up with the quicker ones by mobilising their national organisations and by making eCall a national priority. Industry was also asked to renew its commitment to eCall and for its part make 2010 the target date for deploying eCall in new cars across Europe.

In parallel, the EC is assisting eCall by working on privacy and standardisation, and through field tests and public awareness. Such efforts are part of the Intelligent Car initiative within the Commission's i2010 strategy.

For more information about eCall, please visit the eCall Toolbox