Turkey has reassigned almost 100 prosecutors and judges in a new purge as parliament began a debate on controversial government legislation to rein in the judiciary, local media reported Wednesday.

The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) removed 96 judges and prosecutors from their posts, including five chief prosecutors and senior figures who oversaw the trials of hundreds of top military officers convicted of plotting against the government.

The move came just a week after the HSYK removed 20 prosecutors, including the chief prosecutor of Istanbul and some of those involved in the corruption probe targeting allies of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The sackings came as Erdogan was on his first visit to Brussels in five years in the shadow of EU concerns over the independence of state institutions and the risks to democracy.

The parliament launched a debate late Tuesday on a bill aimed at increasing government control of the HSYK, the country's top independent judicial body, despite concerns.

The crackdown has soured ties with the EU just at a time when Turkey's bid to join the 28-nation bloc had appeared to be regaining some momentum.

"It is important not to backtrack on achievements and to ensure that the judiciary is able to function without discrimination or preference," European Council President Herman Van Rompuy told reporters.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told Erdogan at a joint news conference that respect for rule of law and independence of the judiciary were basic principles of democracy and essential conditions for EU membership.

"Whatever the problems are, we believe that the solution for those problems should respect the principles of rule of law and separation of powers," Barroso said.

Erdogan, a feisty leader who often responds forcefully to criticism, scolded EU leaders for raising the dispute in public, but generally struck a subdued note, perhaps mindful of the jitters in financial markets about Turkey's political woes.

Turkey's decades-old drive to join the EU gained traction late last year when Ankara and Brussels opened talks on a new policy area of the membership negotiations. But the EU concerns about the crackdown risk halting that momentum.

Erdogan said the EU membership talks were on the right track for now, though he repeated a threat he has made before that Turkey might "end up turning in other directions" if the negotiations did not achieve results.

AFP - Reuters