Common freephone services

The European Commission plans to have a series of common freephone services across member states, providing assistance to vulnerable people, primarily children.

Launching a public consultation initiative, the EU executive said its intention is to have the same numbers starting with the digits 116. EU telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said the initiative comes in the wake of the European hotline number for missing children.

"It is now time to reflect on which other services might require such a number. There are many other possibilities, and I am now inviting stakeholders to suggest which are the most important new services.

"I am already considering a single EU child helpline number to give children a caring ear to assist them with their problems."

In its communication, Towards An EU Strategy On The Rights Of The Child, the Commission said children's rights were one of its first priorities and announced that a 116 child helpline number and a 116 missing children hotline number would be reserved.

The public consultation follows the Commission's decision last month requiring member states to reserve the six-digit number range starting with 116 for services of social value. This decision also reserved the first such number, 116000, for hotlines for missing children.

The consultation seeks to identify other services that may benefit from a single Europe-wide number.

Once the Commission decides which numbers should be reserved for which services, it will be up to member states to assign the numbers to individual organisations within their territory.

The consultation will run until May 20. More information can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ecomm/info_centre/documentation/public_consult/index_en.htm#116 .