The European Commission approved on Monday the candidacy of Apostolos Tzitzikostas for the portfolio of Sustainable Transport and Tourism for the next five years.
After the conclusion of Tzitzikostas’ hearing in the European Parliament’s transport and tourism committee, which lasted more than three hours, the coordinators of the political groups met to evaluate his candidacy.
The hearing took place under political pressure from the Left on the train accident of Tempi after the objections that have been heard about the assumption of the Transport and Tourism portfolio by the Greek Commissioner.
In his introductory statement who was aware of that left parties would bring the Tempi tragedy on the table and in an effort to entertain the fears that have been created for this particular portfolio in relation to the Tempe accident said:
“In Greece we suffered from an incredible tragedy. The February 2023 Tempi train crash should not have happened. Such an accident must not happen again anywhere in Europe. That’s why Security will be my number one priority and I will be strict with all member states.”
“Because we have common rules and tools to prevent such accidents today, but they are not always respected or implemented and that is unacceptable. And I will work to change that, together with you, by persuading and supporting the Member States to implement all safety measures, not only on the railway but also on the roads where even today 20,000 people lose their lives a year,” he added.
His intentions will be proven if true or false once it comes to investigation of the Tempi train collision at EU level.
