Turkey could open European Union entry talks as early as next April should the EU decide that the country is up to the EU's economic and democratic standards

Turkey could open European Union entry talks as early as next April should the EU decide that the country is up to the EU's economic and democratic standards, Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said. Verheugen, in charge of judging Turkey's progress, said entry talks with the mostly Muslim nation could get under way within four to six months should a December verdict by EU leaders go in Turkey's favor. ``Several months of preparation would be needed, so it would be after four or six months,'' Verheugen told the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee in Brussels. Verheugen declined to say whether he will recommend opening negotiations in an Oct. 6 progress report. Britain and Germany are Turkey's leading backers in the EU, calling for a quick start to membership talks to encourage a country that's both Muslim and democratic. France and Austria are more cautious. ``People need to think very carefully about strategic implications of pushing Turkey away, pushing Turkey to the East and to the South, and I don't think it is in anybody's interest in Europe,'' U.K. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said earlier in Prague. Turkey's parliament will reconvene Sept. 14, two weeks ahead of schedule, to work on laws called for by the EU such as a new penal code and steps to enhance the rights of women and non- Muslims.