Verbatim report of proceedings

Monday, 27 April 2015 - Strasbourg

Deployment of the eCall in-vehicle system (debate)

  Catherine Stihler (S&D). – Mr President, I would like to thank my colleague, Olga Sehnalová, for the excellent job she has done on this file, seeing it through from the last parliamentary term to today. Despite the fact that it has not always been easy, Olga’s hard work has produced an excellent end result, a piece of legislation which will help save thousands of human lives each year across Scotland, the UK and the European Union.

Road safety concerns us all. Knowing that, if you are in a serious accident, emergency services will be automatically contacted and on their way to help can give all drivers and passengers across the European Union peace of mind and reassurance for families when travelling abroad.

The European Union is investing heavily in ICT innovation and R&D policies to advance the quality of life of our citizens, and we see this with the Internet of Things. This technology creates an ecosystem of smart applications and services which interact with each other. You need only to look at smart cities and smart mobility. E-Safety and eCall are some of the latest examples of smart mobility tools and, as we see technology develop, cars are amongst the first everyday objects in which we see the practical application of this directly. We welcome the impact on improving and saving citizens’ lives across the European Union.