Beckerath on Anniversary of Railway Station Canopy Collapse: May the Memory of Those Who Died Continue to Inspire Serbia

Andreas von Beckerath (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

The head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia, Andreas von Beckerath, said in a Nov. 1 social media post that he remembers those who died in the collapse of the concrete canopy at the Novi Sad railway station on Nov. 1, 2024, adding that "this tragedy shook Serbia to its core."

In a post on the X social media network on the second anniversary of the tragedy, Beckerath said that "Two years ago today, 16 people lost their lives when the canopy of the Novi Sad railway station collapsed." "We honour their memory and stand with their families and loved ones.  This tragedy shook Serbia to its core[...]," the post read.

Beckerath went on to say that the collapse of the canopy "moved citizens across the country to demand transparency and accountability." "May their memory keep inspiring a Serbia built on solidarity, public trust and rule of law," the post concluded.

Tonino Picula, rapporteur for Serbia before the European Parliament, has said that the collapse of the canopy was not just a horrific accident, but has become the symbol of the people's demands for the truth, accountability and institutions that work in the public interest, not that of structures connected through corruption. In a post on the X social media network, Picula wrote that the university student protest movement, which emerged from those demands, defeated at the polls two years later a political option that has dominated Serbia for too long.