The European Commission plans to propose legislation this summer to set up a new Europe-wide emergency communications system designed to let police, firefighters and medical teams stay connected when operating across borders.
The initiative is called the European Critical Communication System, or EUCCS, and would integrate the different communications systems currently used by first responders across the EU and the Schengen Area — the group of European countries that allow passport-free travel, the Commission announced on Friday.
At present, national emergency communication systems often do not work once responders cross into another member state, meaning communications can stop at internal EU and Schengen borders, it stressed.
Technical work on the project has been under way for many years, with EU-funded research carried out between 2015 and 2022 and a current preparation phase running from 2022 to 2027, the Commission said.
Trials under way in Italy and elsewhere
The current EUCCS Preparation Project is bringing together experts from EU member states and Schengen-associated countries to test new technologies, ways of working and shared procedures, the Commission added.
One of the latest trials took place in Italy, where teams from different countries and emergency services role-played scenarios including a vessel interception and multiple emergencies to test mobile communications tools for real-time collaboration.
The preparation work has a current budget of €18 million, with an additional €17 million invested in preliminary research from 2015 to 2022.
