The house speakers of the countries where this year's European capitals of culture (ECC) - Essen, Pecs and Istanbul - are located met for the third time.
Bundestag President Norbert Lammert, Hungarian House Speaker Laszlo Kover and Turkish Grand National Assembly Speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin saw the coalmining museum Zeche Zollverein, a part of the UNESCO World Heritage, and Situation Kunst, an architectural ensemble that includes major works of contemporary artists.
Addressing a subsequent press conference, Kover said that this year's ECC programme created links between communities and entailed considerable profits as well. Pecs, for instance, witnessed an upswing in tourism, hosting twice as many German tourists as in 2009.
He stressed that Hungary's EU presidency in the first half of 2011 would lay great stress on inter-community relations. All the more so as the Carpathian Basin is a multiethnic region characterised by the peaceful co-existence of peoples with diverse cultures, religions and languages.
Kover announced that the three cities would close the ECC project with a large-scale exhibition in the European Parliament in January 2011.
The house speakers of the countries where this year's European capitals of culture (ECC) - Essen, Pecs and Istanbul - are located met for the third time.
Bundestag President Norbert Lammert, Hungarian House Speaker Laszlo Kover and Turkish Grand National Assembly Speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin saw the coalmining museum Zeche Zollverein, a part of the UNESCO World Heritage, and Situation Kunst, an architectural ensemble that includes major works of contemporary artists.
Addressing a subsequent press conference, Kover said that this year's ECC programme created links between communities and entailed considerable profits as well. Pecs, for instance, witnessed an upswing in tourism, hosting twice as many German tourists as in 2009.
He stressed that Hungary's EU presidency in the first half of 2011 would lay great stress on inter-community relations. All the more so as the Carpathian Basin is a multiethnic region characterised by the peaceful co-existence of peoples with diverse cultures, religions and languages.
Kover announced that the three cities would close the ECC project with a large-scale exhibition in the European Parliament in January 2011.
