Wherever you find yourself in the European Union, if you find yourself in an emergency, you can dial the same three-digit number – 112 – from any fixed, mobile, or public telephone to contact all the emergency services.
1972 – the year the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations first recommended the creation of a single emergency telephone number for use across Europe.
1991 – the year the European Economic Community (EEC, the previous incarnation of the EU) Council decided to adopt a single number, in yet another example of lightning-quick decision-making.
112 – the choice of different digits, rather than repeating the same digit, such as the United Kingdom’s 999, reduces the risk of accidental emergency calls, especially since the advent of mobile ‘phones.
11/2 – February 11, the day every year when events take place across the EU member states to promote both the existence and appropriate use guidelines for the 112 (geddit?) emergency number.
81 – the number of countries worldwide, including all 28 EU member states, that have adopted the standard 112 emergency number, sometimes in parallel with other, existing emergency numbers.
092, 091, 080, 062, 061 – other, existing emergency numbers in Spain to contact, respectively: local police, national police, fire and rescue, ambulance and health services, and the Guardia Civil.
42, 33, 23, 17 – percentage of, respectively, German, French, Spanish and British citizens who, according to the latest data, know they can use the 112 emergency number anywhere in the EU.
5 – the time, in seconds, on average, it takes for an emergency call to 112 to be answered by an operator. In Spain, most operators also speak English and French, as well as Spanish.
0 – the cost, in centimes, pennies, and lots of other currencies, of a call to the 112 emergency number from any fixed-line, mobile or public pay telephone in any of the 28 EU countries.
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