Mr Verheugen's officials are tilting towards admitting a divided Cyprus and risking the Turkish reaction.
As to firm entry dates, Mr Verheugen can probably duck that question for now.
When Mr Verheugen suggested that merger rules might be applied less fiercely, liberals cried foul.
Even if Mr Verheugen goes no further, he remains a man to watch or rather listen to.
This pressure to promote is one reason why Mr Verheugen will be puzzling between now and October 13th.
Germany is said to be thinking of nominating Gunther Verheugen, a deputy foreign minister, as one of its two commissioners.
The second question facing Mr Verheugen is whether to recommend fixing a firm date for at least the first accessions.
The most likely outcome is that Mr Verheugen will solve the promotion problem by recommending abolition of the two-group system outright.
If, in the next week or so, Mr Verheugen does take off, Germany's global role may become even more worth pondering.
In October, Mr Verheugen will issue a progress report on Turkey which will form the basis for the decision of EU leaders.
"We need Turkey more than Turkey needs us, " says Mr Verheugen.
Bluntly speaking, they and Mr Verheugen do not feel like being pushed around.
Inevitably, therefore, Mr Verheugen is seen as Berlin's man.
And for the past year, European Commission Vice President Gunter Verheugen dodged rumors (prompted by paparazzi photos) that he has been having an affair with his chief of staff, nearly 15 years his junior.
But it is surely no coincidence that Mr Verheugen is pressing more strongly than ever these days for the creation of a European force strong enough to intervene in crises where the Americans do not wish to be involved.
As for America, Mr Verheugen's tone has become sharply critical the more strikingly so, given that he is a Social Democrat who has long kept close links with friends in Washington and who reassured Bill Clinton's people last year that a red-Green government in Germany would not change the direction of foreign policy.
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