Wed 11 Nov 2002EU chief favours Turkey joiningEU: The European Union's top enlargement official strongly defended Turkey's bid to join the community yesterday, but said he did not favour giving Ankara a date to open negotiations at an EU summit next month.Enlargement Commissioner Mr Guenter Verheugen rejected comments by former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing that admitting the Muslim country of nearly 70 million would spell the "end of the European Union".