German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday they expected a "positive report" to the European Union executive next week on Turkey's bid to join the bloc. "I expect a positive report to be presented to the EU Commission on Oct. 6," Schroeder told reporters at a joint news conference with Erdogan in Berlin. Erdogan said he also expected a positive report. A German newspaper reported earlier that Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen, a close political ally of Schroeder, would on Wednesday recommend in a report to the executive that the bloc open membership talks with Turkey.
