Bulgaria's prime minister has ruled out the risk of a safeguard clause in the justice area, citing the efforts made by the government and the prosecutor's office.

"We have every reason to expect that the European Commission report will recognize the progress made in the justice and home affairs area thanks to the efforts of the government and the other institutions, mainly the prosecutor's office," Sergey Stanishev said in parliament.

"These are my impressions from my meetings with European Commission experts, who were in Bulgaria to review the country's progress," Stanishev added.

Earlier in the week EU Commissioner for Justice Franco Frattini made it clear that he would recommend the activation of the safeguard clause if Romania and Bulgaria don't improve fight against corruption.

Asked whether he would have the "political courage" to do so, Franco Frattini told European Voice "yes, of course", and then he explained that the clause would be activated if the two countries don't progress in their fight against corruption and don't consolidate the judicial system.

The EU Commission has the legal obligation to do so since the safeguard clauses are mentioned in Romania's and Bulgaria's EU Accession Treaty if these countries don't fulfil their obligations.

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