Left-wing opposition party SYRIZA expelled MEP Nikolas Farantouris from its group in the European Parliament on Wednesday.
The move follows comments by Farantouris on Tuesday in which he said he would “welcome” the formation of a new political party by Maria Karystianou, and he did not rule out his collaboration with the new part.
52-tear-old Maria Karystianou is the head of the association of families of the victims of the 2023 Tempi train disaster, and did not rule out collaborating with the new party. In an interview with Kontra TV late on Monday, Karystianou said a new party was in the works with the goal of contesting the next elections, though she did not confirm whether she would serve as its leader.
In a statement, SYRIZA said that Farantouris should return the seat to the party on whose ticket he was elected, noting that he is not clearly committed to representing SYRIZA voters in Brussels.
On his part the expelled MEP instisted to continue an independent member of the European Parliament out of respect of his own voters.
