The EU member states never proposed delayed accession for Bulgaria and Romania, European Integration Minister Meglena Kouneva said.

On the contrary, member states were certain the two countries could complete all reforms needed for on-time entry on January 1 2007, Kouneva said.

The introduction of safeguard clauses was a possibility, listed in Bulgaria’s accession treaty, Kouneva said. Bulgarian officials should be ready to accept EU decision, involving the introduction of such clauses, Kouneva said.

Kouneva said she could not predict whether the clauses would be introduced. If Bulgarian institutions did their job properly the introduction of clauses could be avoided, Kouneva said. At the same time the EU keeps the chance to re-consider the issue after one year, Bulgarian National Radio reported.

Each member state could propose the introduction of safeguard clauses, Kouneva said. To avoid this, Bulgaria needed to maintain good diplomatic relations with all EU countries, said she.