ANKARA, Sept 24 (AFP) - Turkish parliament speaker Bulent Arinc on Friday officially recalled lawmakers from recess for an extraordinary session on Sunday to adopt a key penal code reform which the European Union has set as a condition for the start of membership talks.
"I am announcing today the call for parliament to convene at 11:00 am (0800 GMT) on September 26 to discuss the penal code reform" along with two other bills aimed at reforming the judicial system, Arinc told reporters here.
The package, which aims to overhaul the country's 78-year-old penal code and ease its entry into the European Union, was withdrawn by the government in a surprise move last week just as it was about to be adopted.
The move sparked warnings from the European Commission that a failure to adopt the bill would jeopardize Turkey's bid to become an EU member.
Observers said the move was prompted by proposals by hard-line Islamist lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to introduce into the bill a controversial clause to criminalize adultery, a move strongly opposed by Turkish public opinion and European leaders.
Turkish Prime Recep Tayyip Erdogan flew to Brussels Thursday for crucial talks to resolve the crisis, assuring the European Commission that the bill would be adopted on Sunday without the adultery clause.
The talks ended with a huge boost to Ankara's EU hopes when Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said he saw no obstacles to a "clear recommendation" for the start of EU entry talks with Turkey in a report the commission will issue early next month.
The report will be the basis of a December 17 decision by EU leaders on whether to begin membership talks with Turkey, a vast and relatively poor country that has been an official EU candidate since 1999.