Araz News: The Daily Sabah reports that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a resolution to increase the “number of seats allocated to Turkey from 12 to 18 to reflect its increased population.” PACE representatives claimed that the decision was “entirely justified and fair” on account of it being the third-largest population in Europe.

The new resolution also paves the way for Turkish to become a working language in the Parliamentary Assembly along with German, Italian, and Russian alongside official languages English and French. Once this provision is adopted, transcripts will immediately be translated into Turkish.

Turkey has been a full member of the Council of Europe since 1949 and will contribute 18 Parliamentarians to the total 318 seats available for all all 47 countries. Seats are based on population size of the representing countries and thus Turkey will join the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia in holding 18 seats.