BRUSSELS, Sept 23 (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced hope that Ankara will win a thumbs up from Brussels next month to start EU entry talks, after apparently allaying EU concerns over a penal reform bill.
His comments came as officials in Ankara announced that the Turkish parliament will be recalled for an extraordinary session Sunday to debate the disputed bill, which has cast a cloud over the vast Muslim country's EU hopes.
The upbeat message was echoed by EU enlargement chief Guenter Verheugen, who said he saw "no further obstacles" to stop him giving a clear recommendation next month to EU leaders, due to decide on Turkey's EU fate in December.
"I believe that this meeting is going to prepare a very positive foundation for the progress report of Turkey," the Turkish leader said after an hour of talks with Verheugen at a Brussels hotel.
The Commission, the EU's executive arm, is to publish its assessment of Turkey's reforms on October 6. The report will form the basis for EU leaders to decide at a mid-December summit whether to start EU talks with Ankara.
Verheugen, speaking at a joint press conference with Erdogan, said afterwards that there were "no more obstacles" in the way of him completing his report.
He recalled that during a visit to Turkey this month he expressed concerns about two key issues: reform to the penal code and charges of systematic torture in Turkey.
"My conclusion is that there are no more obstacles on the table now," he said, adding: "From my point of view there are no further conditions which Turkey must fulfil in order to allow the commission to make a recommendation.
"The assurance I got today from my friend Mr. Erdogan will allow me to make a very clear recommendation," Verheugen said.
Turkey, an EU candidate since 1999, has been striving hard to win a positive appraisal from the commission by pushing through major reforms to its laws, judiciary and systems of government.
But Brussels has warned that the hard work risks being undone at the final hurdle if promised reforms to Turkey's penal code are not carried through.
Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government last week dramatically withdrew the penal code bill from parliament -- apparently under pressure from hardline Muslim groups to restore a clause to criminalise adultery.
Following that move the European Commission delivered a blunt warning that Turkey would be snubbed by the EU unless it passes the penal code reforms.
Almost simultaneously with Erdogan's talks with Verheugen in Brussels, officials in Ankara said the parliament will meet in extraordinary session on Sunday to debate the disputed penal code.
Parliamentary sources in Ankara said the decision to convene parliament at the weekend was made in Brussels as part of assurances Erdogan gave Verheugen and was conveyed to the parliament speaker who is tasked with summoning lawmakers back from recess.
The government is not expected to press ahead with plans to include a clause in the penal code bill to criminalize adultery, which was at the root of the crisis between Turkey and the EU, the sources said.
Erdogan, who arrived in Brussels late Wednesday, also met European Commission chief Romano Prodi during the trip. Later he will also meet European Parliament party leaders.
European Commission chief-in-waiting Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said Wednesday that Turkey has yet to meet the criteria for joining the 25-member European Union.
Barroso will take over from Prodi in November, when the current EU executive stands down.
The current issue is whether Turkey is ready to start EU accession talks. Most observers expect that, even once it has been given the green light, Ankara will be unlikely to join the bloc for at least a decade.