Anadolu Agency President Dr. Hilmi Bengi spoke Friday at the 20th German-Turkish Journalists Seminar in Antalya, an event organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Turkish Journalists' Association. He told attendees that Türkiye had taken meaningful strides in its European Union accession process, including reforms to press legislation.
Bengi reviewed the positions of Germany's major political parties on Türkiye's EU bid. The CDU and CSU have favored a privileged partnership rather than full membership, a stance Chancellor Angela Merkel repeated during recent talks in France and Germany. He noted that former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, of the Social Democrats, had backed full membership for Türkiye.
Under the coalition agreement of 11 November 2005, Merkel indicated that full membership was not a near-term prospect, while also affirming that earlier signed commitments remained binding on her government.
Bengi added that German political debate had shifted recently toward the integration of Turkish residents in Germany, with the CDU and CSU pushing for changes to migration law and mandatory citizenship courses for those seeking German nationality.
He closed by stressing the role of media in advancing bilateral ties, noting that Anadolu Agency had published roughly 4,350 EU-related news stories over the previous year, averaging 12 per day.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.