Guaranteeing correct, complete and reliable implementation of the Railway Safety Directive
8.3.2023
Question for written answer E-000798/2023
to the Commission
Rule 138
Elena Kountoura (The Left), Dimitrios Papadimoulis (The Left), Konstantinos Arvanitis (The Left), Alexis Georgoulis (The Left), Stelios Kouloglou (The Left), Petros Kokkalis (The Left)
Following the tragic death toll claimed by the rail disaster in Tempi[1]on 28 February, the Greek Government has announced the appointment of a ‘Special Committee’ to investigate the causes[2].
Article 22 of Directive 2016/798 on railway safety (recast)[3]states that each Member State shall ensure that investigations of accidents and incidents are conducted by a permanent body that is required to fulfil certain criteria regarding its independence.
The directive was transposed into Greek legislation in October 2019 by Law 4632/2019[4], which designates the Commission for the Investigation of Railway Accidents and Incidents (EDISAS) as the accident investigation body.
In January 2023, Law 5014/2023[5]abolished the EDISAS. It was replaced with the National Organisation for the Investigation of Air and Rail Accidents and Transport Safety (EODASAAM), which is not currently operational.
In view of this:
- 1.Has the Greek Government informed the Commission that the EDISAS was abolished before the EODASAAM became operational, leaving no permanent and reliable accident investigation body, as required by the Directive?
- 2.Does it consider that proper compliance with the directive is ensured in the absence of a permanent and reliable accident investigation body?
- 3.Have the Greek authorities requested assistance from the Commission and the EU Agency for Railways in the form of expert assessments and/or technical inspections, analyses and evaluations?
Submitted: 8.3.2023
- [1] https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/two-trains-collide-in-greece-at-least-32-killed-85-injured/
- [2] Greek Government Gazette Series B, No 1310/6.3.2023
- [3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EL/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02016L0798-20201023
- [4] Greek Government Gazette Series A, No 159, 14.10.2019.
- [5] Greek Government Gazette Series A, No 14/21.1.2023.