Germany will ratify Bulgaria and Romania's accession treaty by the end of 2006.

The German government is aware of the EU enlargement engagements and the ratification process will begin on time, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.

Steinmeier did not give exact date for the initiation of the ratification procedure and said it is still early to predict whether Bulgaria and Romania will join the EU in January 2007.

On-time accession depends on two factors, Steinmeier said. The first is the ratification of the accession treaty in all EU member countries. Another important factors is the European Commission report on Bulgaria's reform progress, the Bulgarian National Radio reported.

Both Romania and Bulgaria implemented impressive amount of measures to overcome European criticism, Steinmeier said. The enlargement process played a positive role on the economic development of both old and new member states. Europe is aware the process should include the Western Balkan region as well, Steinmeier said.