After the meeting, the three issued a joint statement in which they confirmed the full backing of their parliaments for the 2010 European Capital of Culture projects planned by the Hungarian city of Pécs, Essen in Germany, and Istanbul.
Katalin Szili initiated the cooperation between the three house speakers of the countries involved in the 2010 European Capital of Culture programme after Pécs was picked to represent Hungary. The meeting in Istanbul was the second occasion the house speakers met to discuss their plans for 2010. The first was held in Pécs in October.
Szili together with Köksal Toptan, speaker of Turkey's Grand National Assembly, and Norbert Lammert, president of the German Bundestag, saw some of the preparations for Istanbul's programme for 2010.
Szili said the cooperation between the three countries - one an old European Union member, the other a new member, and the third a candidate for EU membership - was symbolic. The three countries are also bound in the framework of the EU's twinning programme: Germany assisted Hungary to bring its laws in line with EU norms before it joined the union and Hungary is helping Turkey's parliament prepare for EU accession, she added.
During the talks, Szili also spoke about Hungary's preparations to take the rotating EU presidency in 2011.
The three house speakers together opened two exhibitions on Saturday. Szili also visited a catholic and a protestant cemetery in the city where she laid wreathes on the graves of Hungarian soldiers who emigrated to the country after the 1848 Hungarian Revolution.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: epa
