ISTANBUL (CIHAN) - Returning from his German visit, the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Bülent Arinç said that he hoped the first visit of a Turkish Parliament Speaker to Germany after 11 years had positively contributed to relations between the two countries' parliaments.
Arinç said during a press conference at Istanbul Atatürk Airport that his visit had aimed to inform German public opinion about Turkey's efforts on the road to the European Union.
Arinç said that his meeting with the Speaker of the German Federal Parliament, Volfgang Thierse had been very constructive and had been held in a very friendly atmosphere. He said that he had informed his German counterpart about the legislative reform packages in Turkey and that Mr Thierse had praised Turkey's efforts to meet the Copenhagen criteria.
Arinç said that Turkey's membership of the European Union had not been politically abused in the run up to the European Parliament elections, and added that the decrease in the German Social Democrats' vote in the European Parliament elections was not related to its support for Turkey's EU membership but rather to its domestic policies.
Turkish Parliament Speaker, Arinç said that his aim was to remove all doubts about Turkey's EU membership in Germany, and that he had been successful in his aim.