This year no significant progress has been made with the ratification of the EU accession treaties of Romania and Bulgaria, signed in April. MPs from only 4 out of the 25 EU states ratified the document: Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Older EU members have postponed the process, waiting for the final evaluation of the two states' progress by the European Commission, due in April 2006. Although French senate president Christian Poncelet said last week that he hoped Romania's treaty of accession would be ratified "by the end of the year", French European Affairs minister Catherine Colonna has mentioned this week: "France is waiting for the European Commission's reports on Romania and Bulgaria and will take them into account." Austria is also waiting for the report, although Austrian president Heinz Fischer has recently told the Romanian president that the Vienna Parliament will decide on the treaty soon. German officials have also announced they will wait for the European Commission's report due in April 2006 and afterwards ratify the document. As for the remaining EU states, their silence is also a reaction. (D.E.)