Jose Manuel Barroso is heading to Turkey on April 10 in what will be the first visit of a president of the European Commission (EC) since the signing of the Ankara Treaty in 1963, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.

A day before his two-day visit, Barroso said he would call on Turkey to speed up political reforms and prove that Turkey's membership would be of benefit to the European Union. Barroso is travelling together with EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn.

The head of the EU executive will hold meetings with Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish president Abdullah Gul, as well as address the country's parliament and general assembly.

"The EU can only accept a democratic Turkey, a Turkey where there is consensus on democratic values. That is why we are concerned by recent developments, which are something [that is] not normal in a stable democratic country," Barroso was quoted by Deutsche Welle as saying on April 9.

Barroso referred to the recent attempt of the Turkey's chief prosecutor's office to render the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) illegitimate. According to Barroso, an investigation into the party's alleged Islamist subversion of secular rule and the proposal to ban Erdogan from politics was “not normal” for a party that won a majority of votes in the last election.

“Europe can only accept a democratic Turkey, a Turkey where there is consensus on democratic values,” Barroso said, adding that no country could forcefully impose either religion or secularism.

The secularist establishment believes that the AKP is attempting to bridge state and religion. AKP denies the allegations and said the court pressed charges on political grounds.

Earlier this week, Turkish prime minister pledged to step up reforms to ensure faster accession to the 27-member bloc. Turkey and the EU have not held any membership talks over the last year amid staunch opposition from Turkey's nationalist parties.