EU's Rehn plays down Turkey reform setback

HELSINKI, Finland - European Union enlargement chief Olli Rehn has played a setback for Turkey's faltering reforms but urged Ankara to press ahead with political and legal changes.

In a Finnish television interview, Rehn said a veto by Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer of a bill establishing an ombudsman as required by Brussels as part of Ankara's EU membership bid was not the end of the story.

"It's not maybe as dramatic as it appears, because he often uses the veto which the parliament overturns with its own decision," Rehn told MTV.

"The post of an ombudsman is a cornerstone of a European constitutional state and we expect Turkey to create this post."

The EU, which Turkey is negotiating to join, believes an ombudsman will boost the fight against corruption, increase transparency and allow better control of military spending.

Sezer, who sees himself as defending Turkey's secular order against the ruling Justice and Development Party which has roots in political Islam, said the post contravened the constitution by extending to parliament powers it had no right to exercise.

Rehn said he would discuss Turkey and the Cyprus issue in talks on Monday between the European Commission and the Finnish government, which took over the 25-nation bloc's revolving presidency for six months on Saturday.

The Turkish parliament went into summer recess on Friday without enacting a reform package sought by Brussels and is unlikely now to reconsider the ombudsman bill before Rehn is due to report on Ankara's progress in October.

- REUTERS