The EU Parliament’s Committee on Petitions on Monday discussed the February 2023 Tempi rail disaster in north-central Greece, held in a fast-track process. Members of the committee subsequently decided to keep open a petition tabled by Maria Karystianou, on behalf of an association of relatives of the Tempi victims.
At the end of the session, the vice-president of the committee, Jana Toom of Estonia (ALDE), announced that the report will remain open and be forwarded to the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), as well as to the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN). She also said a written briefing has been requested by the European Commission.
In her intervention, Karystianou, who lost her 19-year-old daughter Marthi in the train collision, said the voice of the relatives of the Tempi victims has been magnified “because it has been joined the voices of 1.3 million citizens, who have co-signed the petition submitted to the European Parliament.”
She also cited three main demands that entail an EU interest, namely, a protection of the rule of law; protection of life and the physical integrity of EU citizens and transports safety.
Karystianou also said the petition charges a “cover-up that occurred after the incident, especially regarding the cargo, which caused the unexplained explosion and fire, as well as the illegal alteration of the collision site, which prevented the collection of evidence.”
The committee’s decision to keep the report on rail disaster open was supported by all political groupings of the European Parliament.
