The member states' permanent representatives endorsed the compromise reached between the Council and the European Parliament (19.03) concerning a decision to introduce a mandatory EU-wide system to handle emergency calls sent automatically by cars or triggered manually by people in the car, in case of a crash (eCalls).

The EU-wide eCall is expected to speed up the emergency services' response time by 40% in urban areas and 50% in the countryside, bringing down the number of fatalities and reducing the severity of injuries suffered in road accidents.

See also: EU Presidency Press Release (19.03)