How can victims of crime get assistance in the EU? Who should EU citizens call if they need non-urgent medical help or advice? New helplines like these should be available soon throughout the EU thanks to a decision taken by the European Commission. It reserves two new “116” numbers for services of social value. The helpline numbers 116 006 and 116 117 will be reserved for victims of crime and for citizens calling non-emergency medical services across the EU.

” People are most vulnerable when they are away from home, and Europe-wide numbers can make a real difference when things go wrong. The two numbers reserved will, when operational in all EU countries, offer support to people in difficulty if they are victims of crime or if they need non-emergency medical help,” said Viviane Reding, EU Telecoms Commissioner.” I urge Member States to make the new numbers available as soon as possible and to do what they can to encourage organisations that can efficiently provide these services to put them to good use.”

The 116 006 will help victims of crime by informing them of their rights and how to use these, offering emotional support, while also referring victims to relevant organisations. As a single access point, it will provide information about local police and criminal justice proceedings, possibilities for compensation and insurance matters, and other sources of help for victims of crime

The non-emergency medical call service (116 117) will direct callers to medical assistance when the need is urgent but not life-threatening, especially outside normal office hours, during the weekend or public holidays. The aim is to connect the caller to a skilled call-handler or a qualified medical practitioner who could provide on-call medical assistance or advice, particularly when the caller’s usual source of medical assistance is not available.

The Commission Decision now adopted builds on the EU’s 2007 Decision on 116 numbers, which reserves three other numbers EU wide for services of social value: 116 000 for the Missing Child Hotline , 116 111 for Child Helplines and 116 123 for emotional support helplines.

This decision requires EU countries to make sure that the two new numbers can be assigned by national telecoms regulators from the 15th of April 2010. It will be up to the relevant national organisations to apply for the numbers and put them into operation.

Permalink: European Commission reserve victim hotline numbers in Europe