Faster emergency response in Europe: CoESS calls for smarter public-private alarm dispatch in EU Critical Communications System
CoESS submitted its position to the European Commission Consultation on the European Critical Communications System (EUCCS) in support of the initiative. The alarm response industry highlights the need to modernise emergency communications across Europe and better integrate private Monitoring and Alarm Receiving Centres (MARCs) into national emergency-response frameworks. By enabling secure and automated digital alarm transmission between private security operators and public emergency services, the initiative could significantly improve response times and coordination. CoESS emphasises that this reform would strengthen Europe’s preparedness and resilience in the face of emergencies.
Across Europe, private security companies operate Monitoring and Alarm Receiving Centres that detect and verify incidents around the clock, including intrusions, technical faults, fires and medical alarms. Yet in many cases, verified emergencies are still communicated to public emergency services through manual phone calls, often using legacy systems that slow down response times and increase the risk of errors.
CoESS argues that the EUCCS initiative offers a unique opportunity to modernise this critical link in Europe’s emergency-response chain. The organisation recommends the creation of automated digital alarm-dispatch protocols connecting private alarm centres with Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) and emergency coordination centres. Such systems would allow the secure transmission of structured data - including location details, alarm verification and even images or video streams - directly into emergency systems.
This approach would reduce manual workloads for emergency call centres, improve situational awareness and help first responders prioritise the most urgent incidents. According to CoESS, several Member States already demonstrate the feasibility of these systems through national models, showing that modern digital alarm communication can significantly enhance public safety and crisis response across Europe.