Bulgaria and Romania will enter the European Union on 1 January 2007, according to former commissioner for enlargement Gunter Verheugen, who is currently Commissioner for Industry and deputy of Jose Barroso.
His statement made to journalists in Dusseldorf comes to confirm numerous suggestions by other EU officials on the prospective date of accession of the two Balkan states.
Yet, the final recommendation will not be known until September 26 when Brussels is to reveal its monitoring reports on Sofia and Bucharest.
Then it is up to the EU Member states to deliver their final verdict.