15 November 2012, Zagreb - The first International HeERO Conference on eCall, a new telecommunications service aiming to enhance road and general safety, offered an exclusive insight on the intermediate results of the HeERO (Harmonized eCall European Pilot) project, the outcomes of the interoperability testing in nine countries and recommendations for implementing eCall at European level.

Since January 2011, the nine pilot sites (Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden) forming the HeERO consortium have carried out a three-year programme leading to the deployment of a Pan European in-vehicle emergency call. The eCall system is based on the common European Emergency number 112 and the European Commission recommends its mandatory implementation in all Member States by 2015.

Olga Sehnalova, Member of the European Parliament and Rapporteur on "eCall: a new 112 service for citizens" Report stated: "I fully support the intensive work done within the HeERO project which we also expressed in the European Parliament Report on the eCall. Close cooperation among all the stakeholders involved, in particular on the pilot cross-border authentication of eCall, is an essential step to path the way for mandatory implementation of the system in all the Member States in 2015. This is the one goal ahead of us as eCall could save 2500 lives every year."

Jadran Perinic from the National Protection and Rescue Directorate, Croatia said that "when fully deployed, the service will decrease response time in case of an accident, save more lives, reduce number of accidents and severity of injuries, as well as bring significant savings in healthcare and recovery expenditures."

The 200 participants from emergency services, European and national public authorities, mobile network operators and industry representatives also witnessed a live eCall demonstration in Croatia via a videoconference. The demo tested the way an eCall by various manufacturers from the Czeck Republic, Italy, Romania, Sweden and Croatia can be activated and received by the 112 system in the National Protection and Rescue Directorate.

The first International HeERO Conference on eCall was organized by the National Protection and Rescue Directorate (NPRD) Croatia, ERTICO - ITS Europe, and the European Emergency Number Association (EENA).

The event was held in conjunction with the EENA Roundtable on 112 in the Balkans.