DIAL "3" for Europe at least we will if the European Commission has its way.

In a wide ranging plan to overhaul the European Union's telephone numbering system, the Commission said it wanted "3" to become the first figure of every international call to Europe.

The plan, outlined in a discussion document published yesterday, also says subscribers should keep their numbers when they switch telephone companies and be able to dial the same toll free number from anywhere in Europe to order goods or call for emergency roadside assistance.

The Commission says the system needs overhauling to take account of free competition and to give callers easy access to the evergrowing number of pan European services.

The Commission, which will circulate the discussion document to interested parties before making formal proposals, admits the plan will cost money. But it argues that the price will be small compared with the benefits to consumers and companies faced with different phone numbers in different countries. "A stable long term plan communicated to the marketell in advance, can lead to important cost saving as it allows businesses to reprint stationery, repaint vehicles and inform customers as part of their normal procedures," the Commission said in a statement.

It said users must be able to select which phone company they want to use on a case by case basis - by dialling an access code if necessary - by January 1st, 1998.

That is the deadline the EU has set for opening up its telecommunications markets to full competition in most countries.