Malta still without missing children hotline

Malta is one of the EU member states still without a missing children telephone hotline.

Marking the International Day for Missing Children, the European Commission said that only 10 of the 27 EU countries had set up the single European hotline number, 116 000, for missing children.

According to a 2007 decision, all EU countries are obliged to make the number available. That depends on the commitment of national authorities. The countries in compliance are Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and, more recently, France, Belgium, Poland, Italy and Slovakia.

"This delay is difficult to explain and shows us the importance of acting with determination so that EU instruments become a reality on the ground," EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot said at the launch of a campaign publicising the number, promoted by Missing Children Europe, a federation of 23 NGOs in 16 member states.

Malta issued calls for expressions of interest to run three separate 24-hour help-lines, all starting with the 116 code. Two of the help-lines are aimed at helping missing children or children in need of protection and the third seeks to offer support to adults. The calls close at the end of this month.

Despite the low roll out of the EU-wide hotline, Missing Children Europe president Sir Francis Jacobs said he was still optimistic that the issue would be tackled by member states.

"With the formal launch of the single number in 10 member states, we hope to be able to reach a growing number of parents and children throughout the Union by offering them immediate help from our member organisations that operate the 116 000 number nationally."

This relative step forward in spreading the number is, according to the Commission, attributable to the awareness-raising work done in 2008 for a project it financed within the Daphne III programme, aimed at encouraging the assignment and use of 116 000 in Union countries where it is still lacking.