Bulgaria has significant shortcomings in air safety and may not meet EU rules in that area when it joins the bloc Jan. 1, the European Commission said Wednesday.
There was "considerable risk" Bulgaria would not meet EU rules on air safety, the commission said in a statement.
EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot stopped short of banning Bulgarian airlines from EU skies, but said their planes might be grounded by member states on safety grounds.
"As things stand, we are not satisfied that Bulgaria meets the required standard" of airline safety, Barrot said in a statement.
The commission said Bulgaria showed important shortcomings "in the field of safety oversight in general, and for the certification of airworthiness and maintenance of aircraft."
It said staff numbers in civil aviation in Bulgaria were insufficient and their level of training "generally inadequate to perform their duties at the required level."
Its airline sector will not be integrated into the EU until it guarantees an improvement in standards.
Barrot said the Bulgarian transport minister had told him the situation would be improved as soon as possible.
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