Austria's Ambassador to Bulgaria does not rule out the invocation of more than one safeguard clause for the Balkan country's accession to the European Union.

Karl Diem talked to journalists after an official lunch of the EU member states envoys with President Georgi Parvanov.

Ambassador Diem was positive that Bulgaria will enter the European Union as scheduled on January 1, 2007, but said the enforcement of at least the "justice and home affairs" safeguard clause is particularly likely for Bulgaria.

The ambassador, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, underlined that the enforcement of any of the safeguard clauses is just a procedure and there is nothing to worry about.

The Treaty of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania includes three provisions which allow the Union to remedy difficulties encountered as a result of accession: a general economic safeguard clause; a specific internal market safeguard clause; and a specific justice and home affairs safeguard clause.

These safeguards are the same as the ones included in the Accession Treaty of the Member States who joined on 1 May 2004.

The justice and home affairs safeguard clause may be applied if there are serious, or imminent risks of serious shortcomings in the transposition or implementation of EU rules relating to mutual recognition in the area of criminal law or civil matters by a new Member State.

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