The European People’s Party (EPP) and its allies have failed in their attempt to cover up the Tempi crime. The Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament has officially approved the inclusion of the matter on the plenary agenda, with the debate scheduled for 19 June, in the presence of the EU Commissioner for Transport.
Despite repeated interventions by the EPP – the political group to which New Democracy belongs – the Left group (LEFT), which had first submitted the request on 5 February, succeeded in securing the obvious: a public political debate on a tragedy that claimed 57 lives and continues to provoke widespread public anger.
SYRIZA–Progressive Alliance’s European Parliamentary group, which has supported the initiative from the beginning, stated in an announcement that the request for debate “was reintroduced at every session, despite the EPP/ND’s ongoing attempts to block it until the very last moment.”
The debate will take place on Thursday 19 June, at 10am Greek time, in Strasbourg. According to the statement, LEFT and SYRIZA–Progressive Alliance aim to highlight “the multiple political and systemic illegalities and irregularities that led to the disaster” and to pose specific questions regarding railway safety in Greece, more than two years after the tragedy.
“The answers sought by the victims’ families – and by Greek society at large – are not just a domestic concern. They affect every European citizen who travels on the Greek railway system and has the right to know whether they are travelling safely,” the SYRIZA–PA group emphasised.
It’s Official!
The Tempi tragedy will be discussed at the upcoming plenary session in Strasbourg, with the responsible Commissioner, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, present to answer for it.
This marks a significant victory, secured by specific political groups, despite opposition from the European People’s Party, Patriots, and ESN.
Hellenic Solution, through the @ecrgroup, was (unfortunately) the only right-wing political group that supported the request all five times, making this crucial debate possible.
P.S.: In a final twist, theElliniki Lýsi–New Democracy made a last-minute push to change the title of the debate and remove the phrase “following recent developments and revelations” — referring to the shocking findings that have recently come to light.
Unfortunately, the title change was accepted, despite our objections.
