On 29 July 1991 the Council of European Communities brought the Decision on introducing a unique European urgency services number 112 (Council Decision 91/396/EEC) which integrates all urgency services into a unique service of providing help, the System 112 with the main purpose to provide overall help in cases of threatened health and lives of people as well as material goods and environment.
The 112 System was operationally introduced in the Republic of Croatia on 11 February 2005 and has following features and advantages for both - the callers as well as the urgency services:
The number 112 is available daily round the clock in all states members of the European Union and the calls are free of charge from all public phone boxes, mobile or fixed telephones.
The caller does not need to know particular telephone numbers and authorised territorial and specialised urgency services, which is a special advantage for tourists or callers in stressful situations.
By calling 112 one can get help from any urgent service (police, firefighters, urgent medical help, mountain rescue service, inspectional, communal or other service interconnected in the protection and rescuing system).
System 112 enables locating the caller of 112, receiving urgent call in foreign languages, initiating search and rescue actions at sea or mainland, urgent air transport of transplantation organs, of injured persons, search and rescue teams, firemen and the engagement of citizens’ associations which with their competences contribute to the protection and rescue system (hunters, divers etc.)
Time is saved, since one call activates at the same time several services, i.e. the operator after receiving a call at 112 alarms and coordinates all urgent services needed in a particular case.
Urgent services are not disturbed in their operational work by malicious and repeated calls in situations when the same urgent case is multiply reported by different eyewitnesses, since the operator in centre 112 will block such calls and enable the urgent services to work more efficiently.
A questionnaire on the awareness of EU citizens of the universal European number 112 for urgent cases, which the European Commission conducted in January 2014, showed that 65% of the participants in the Republic of Croatia are informed about the number 112 and its purpose, which is significantly higher than the EU average (EU 28, 41%.).
Representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament and European Council signed on 11 February 2009 the tripartite declaration by which 11 February was established as the European 112 Day.
