PRAGUE, Oct 4 (AFP) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Monday that the European Union would probably decide unanimously in December to open negotiations with Turkey
"I assume that there is a good chance of finding the necessary unanimity," said the chancellor during a press conference in Prague with his Czech counterpart Stanislav Gross.
The European Commission is due to present a report on Wednesday on Turkey's candidature for EU accession.
If the Commission says that Turkey fulfills the necessary criteria for an envisaged accession, the heads of state and government of the 25 EU members will have to decide during a Brussels summit in mid-December whether to open negotiations with the country.
"If the Commission states, as I believe, that the conditions for opening negotiations have been fulfilled, Germany will vote in favour during the European Council," said Schroeder.
Asked about French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin's hesitation regarding Turkey, Schroeder said that he valued the position of French President Jacques Chirac.
"That's what counts in the European Council and it's like the German position," he said.
Schroeder is one of the most ardent defenders of Turkey's candidacy. During a ceremony in Berlin on Sunday evening, he reiterated that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was a "great reformer" who "put in place dynamic reforms that are unprecedented in his country's history".