While we always hope and pray for the best while we are traveling it’s important to know how, where and who to contact in case of an Emergency. It might just save someone’s life!

112 - General Emergency Number 

While you are within the 27 European Union (EU) Nations as well as another number of European nations there is a single EU emergency number. That number is 112. This number works similar to the single USA emergency number 911. 

Here is a list of the 27 EU Nations: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Additional countries where it is possible to use 112 for emergencies: 

• Albania 
• Bosnia and Herzegovina 
• Iceland 
• Kosovo 
• Liechtenstein 
• Moldova 
• Montenegro 
• North Macedonia 
• Norway 
• Serbia 
• Switzerland 
• Turkey 
• United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland)

112 is an emergency number that you can use to call the police, ambulance, or firefighters. If you are in a country where you do not speak the language you should be able to speak to the operator in English, or you will speak through a translator who will be quickly connected to the call. Most of the EU countries are able to handle English calls directly. A few of the countries though state that they may not always be able to answer calls in English all the time, but it will be dependent upon the operator that is reached, and their language skills. They will though try to defer you to another operator who may have more skills in English.

Make sure that you try and speak clearly and slowly so that the emergency operators can understand what you are saying. Be patient if you need to speak through a translator so that they have the time to translate all that you are saying to the operator. 

116 000 - Missing Children 

If you have lost your child the number 116 000 is available to call in all 27 EU countries. There are some other countries also who are not in the EU where this call line is available, such as the UK, Switzerland, etc. 

If you call 116 000 you will be able to receive immediate emotional, psychological, social, legal and administrative support.

Other Numbers 

Many European nations also have their own local emergency numbers in addition to the 112 emergency number. These numbers are then often more specific with who is being called, whether it is the fire department, police department, Ambulance, etc. If you want to know the more spec