New Commissioner for Transport says safety will be his “number 1 priority”

The new college of European Commissioners has been approved by the European Parliament and will start work on 1 December.  Apostolos Tzitzikostas, a former Greek regional governor and former president of the European Committee of the Regions, will become commissioner for transport, replacing Adina Valean who is now an MEP.

In a European parliamentary hearing earlier this month, Mr Tzitzikostas told MEPs on more than one occasion that safety would be his “number 1 priority”.  The commissioner-designate made the statement in response to questions over the investigation of a major train crash in Greece last year which killed 57 people. Tzitzikostas added that he would ensure that standards are respected in the rail sector on his watch but also “on our roads, where 20,000 people still lose their lives every year”.

When asked about the specific action the Commission would take on speed, Tzitzikostas said “We have seen that when you decrease within the cities the speed limits, it helps a lot with accidents and even deaths.”  He said the Commission would “provide the data to the Member States but it’s for them and the cities or regions to decide on whether they will choose to enforce the existing speed limits or change them.”