EU plans cross-border emergency comms system to replace radio

Brussels: The EU put forward Wednesday plans for a new bloc-wide communication system allowing police, firefighters and other national emergency services to better coordinate during cross-border crises.

Currently, first responders across the 27-country European Union mostly rely on radio to communicate, but secure channels normally stop working at national borders, hampering international operations, Brussels says.

“When crisis strikes, our first responders must be able to communicate instantly across agencies, across borders, across Europe,” said the EU’s commissioner for internal affairs Magnus Brunner.