German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder on Wednesday spoke out in favor of Romania joining the European Union as early as 2007. At a German-Romanian investment conference in Essen, Schröder told the Associated Press he saw "no political hindrance" to finalizing negotiations in December. Previously, Schröder had met for a 45-minute talk with the Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase. Schröder stressed that Germany, as a country dependent on exports, had much to gain by swift Romanian accession to the European Union. "The quicker it goes, the sooner we can sell them our top quality, relatively expensive products," he told AP.