The president of democracia21, Miriam González Durántez, has sent a letter to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to request the intervention of the community institutions in the face of what she considers a lack of independence and professionalization in the bodies responsible for the management, supervision and investigation of the Spanish railway system.
The initiative comes after the Adamuz accidents, which occurred in January and in which 46 people died, and of Urda (Toledo), last October 28, which has caused at least 69 fatal victims, according to the letter. González Durántez demands that Brussels examine the institutional guarantees of the railway bodies and supervise the independence of the investigations opened, in addition to clarifying the destination of European resources allocated to infrastructure.
It demands that Brussels examine the institutional guarantees of the railway bodies and supervise the independence of the investigations opened
In the letter, dated November 1, the president of democracia21 maintains that the appointments to positions of technical responsibility and administrative responsibility in the Administration, public companies and supervisory bodies have been made under criteria of political trust, instead of prioritizing merit, ability and professional experience. In her opinion, this practice weakens internal control mechanisms and may make it difficult for professionals to question decisions or alert to possible irregularities.
"Spanish citizens have the right to trust that decisions on railway safety are made with technical rigor by people with the merit and ability for it," González Durántez says in the letter, in which she also demands that the causes of the tragedies be investigated with "absolute independence and transparency".
Four requests to the European Commission
Democracia21 raises four concrete requests to the European Commission. The first consists of examining the appointment and removal procedures of the heads of the Spanish railway entities, as well as the guarantees of independence and professional competence of these bodies. The organization also proposes that the Commission's annual reports on the Rule of Law include an assessment of the independence and professionalization of the public administrations of the member states.
The second request is addressed to the European Union Railway Agency (ERA). Democracia21 requests that the body carry out a public and urgent evaluation of the investigation into the Adamuz accident, oversee the guarantees of independence of the Urda investigation, and follow up on the independent investigation of Angrois, which the European Commission called for after the 2013 accident.
Thirdly, the organization asks Brussels to check whether the new Independent Administrative Authority for the Technical Investigation of Railway, Maritime and Civil Aviation Accidents and Incidents (AITAT) complies with the independence requirements set out in Article 22 of European Directive 2016/798. The letter raises that, if necessary, the Commission should use the instruments provided for in the community treaties to ensure its compliance.
The fourth request calls for the destination and the degree of implementation of the European funds granted to Spain to improve the safety and maintenance of the railway network to be made public. Democracia21 considers that this information is necessary to guarantee transparency in the use of community resources allocated to infrastructures essential for citizens' safety.
The precedent of Angrois and the doubts about the investigations
The letter recalls the Angrois accident, which occurred in July 2013, as a precedent for the concerns about the independence of railway investigations in Spain. As González Durántez recalls, the European Union Railway Agency concluded in 2016 that the investigation carried out then had not respected the independence guarantees required by community regulations and recommended that it be repeated under the proper conditions.
The European Commission subsequently urged Spain to carry out a new independent investigation. However, the Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF) refused in 2024 to reopen the case. Democracia21 asks in its letter what measures Brussels has adopted in the face of that refusal and calls for the actions carried out to be published.
The organization also focuses on the investigation of Adamuz, which began under the previous CIAF and was later taken over by the new independent authority, the AITAT. The letter considers it urgent to examine the institutional and professional guarantees of this body and of the investigation into the Urda accident.
"The European Union should not wait for tragedies to occur to examine whether the Administrations responsible for protecting its citizens have the necessary guarantees of independence and professionalism," González Durántez concludes.
With the sending of the letter, democracia21 shifts the debate on railway safety to the community sphere and calls for the institutional response not to be limited to clarifying the causes of the accidents, but to include a review of the oversight mechanisms, the appointment criteria and the management of the resources allocated to the network.