SYRIZA and PASOK proposals for preliminary committee on Tempi-related contract are rejected

Greek parliament’s plenary session rejected proposals by PASOK-Movement for Change (KINAL) and SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance for a preliminary examination committee on the ministerial responsibilities on updating the telemanagement system that played a key role in the fatal Tempi train collision in February this year.

The main opposition party SYRIZA-PA and PASOK-KINAL had each requested a special preliminary committee on the so-called Agreement 717, which called for the upgrade of the telemanagement system on the Athens-Thessaloniki-Promahonas national railroad line, and which would focus on specific ministers’ responsibilities.

PASOK’s proposal was aimed against former Transport & Infrastructure ministers Christos Spirtzis and Kostas Karamanlis, while Syriza’s proposal named former ministers Spirtzis, Karamanlis, Kostis Hatzidakis, and Michalis Chrysochoidis.

The proposals were rejected by majority vote after a 15-hour plenary discussion in total, based on the votes of New Democracy. Following a plenary vote last week, the ruling party set up a parliamentary investigative committee to examine the accident’s causes overall and the state of the national railroad. The accident is also the focus of other investigations through the court system.

None of the deputies named by the two opposition parties took part in the proposals referring to them, while the vote was anonymous.