“Greece is making a serious effort to correct the big and systemic problems for decades on the Greek railway,” said Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas, in a debate on the tragic accident of Tempi for the first time today.

The European Commissioner for Transport said that from the very first day he took office, he requested and received full information from the Commission’s competent services on all Greek railway security issues – and on December 16th, “having the full picture of the serious deficiencies in the Greek railway.” Incomplete incorporation and application of the requirements of European Railway Security Legislation, and in particular EU Railway Safety Directive 2016/798. “In the context of this process, there is an explicit and clear reference to the important, systemic and timeless deficiencies in the Greek railway sector, which I even discussed once again extensively, at my meeting a week ago, with the Greek Minister of Transport,” Ap.

He stressed that Greece has drawn up an action plan to address all the issues needed to make the Greek railroad completely safe, as defined by European law. He then added that “the European Commission does not replace national authorities and bodies, neither performs their duties, nor does it naturally have investigative, research or judicial powers”, but “closely monitors” the implementation, within the agreed timetable, of the action plan submitted by Greece. He also assured that “if the slightest oligarchy is found”, the process of violating it would proceed with the next stages, while noting that on the basis of the latest progress report sent by the Ministry to the Commission, “good progress” was found.

From the EPP team, Eliza Vozenberg (ND), who referred to other railway accidents in Europe over the last fifteen years, was given by the EPP team, saying that they were not discussed in the European Parliament plenary, such as the Tempe’s accident, ” Everywhere as exclusively responsible for the tragedy and seeking with motley alliances to be convicted as criminal criminal law criminals and the country’s prime minister himself. ” The ND MEP stressed that the government has taken all the necessary steps to enhance the safety of the railways and submits a two -month report to the Commission.

For his part, Yiannis Maniatis from PASOK and European Social Democrats stressed that for the crime of Tempi, which cost the lives of 57 people – mainly young children, “both the officials and their political bosses should pay for them, while With European funding, nine years later it was not completed. ” G. Maniatis also talked about the “scandal of concealment”, which he said began shortly after the tragedy, “with the sole aim of protecting those responsible”.

“The Left has been very tired of accepting our request, and I sincerely wonder what the political forces that were refused to protect you,” said Kostas Arvanitis from SYRIZA and the European Left. Addressing the Transport Commissioner, he said that for what preceded the Tempe crime, “the Commission was aware of and did not work as a must”, while attributing “heavy responsibilities” to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the Prime Minister, but also to the competent Directorate of Commission. Mr Arvanitis said that since 2017 there was an investigation into the critical – and non -existent – contract between the Ministry and the OSE and it took six years for Greece to reach the EU court. He also noted that by 2023, the European Railway Agency (ERA) was now in charge of the Hellenic Railway Agency (ERA). Pressure, not only applauds, but also funding a ‘action plan’ without a legal basis. “

A sharp attack on everything, but also of the process, was launched by the head of “Voice of Logic”, Aphrodite Latinopoulou, from the “patriots for Europe” party, with heavy ratings. He pledged that if relatives are not justified by justice, he would bring the matter to Europe itself.

A series of questions was also asked by the Commissioner for Transport by the MEP of the Greek solution, Emmanuel Fragos.

The Eurogroup of the Liberals (Renew) was represented by French MEP Sandro Goji. “The Commission is responsible for the safety of citizens. The issue is therefore European and not national. It goes beyond transport, it is a symptom of a bigger problem, “he said.

Former Commissioner and current MEP Virginis Sinkevicius represented the Greens. “When public money does not lead to security, then there are serious political responsibilities,” he said.

At the end of the debate, the Transport Commissioner took the second time, stressing that “our goal is to continue working together, so that we will never experience such a tragedy in Greece or anywhere else in Europe.” Apostle Tzitzikostas called for the cooperation of MEPs to ensure the best possible conditions for the safety of the European Railway. He said that “we are already working intensively, and in the coming period we will present our proposal to revise the regulation governing the European ERA Railway Organization”. He concluded by saying that “security is and must be a common European good. It is and must be our absolute priority. None of our fellow citizens, no passenger, should feel at risk, due to shortages and failures in the system. We are working in this direction. This is our non -negotiable priority. “