SOFIA, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Fourteen Bulgarian border police officers have been arrested on suspicion of bribery, the interior ministry said on Friday, part of a drive to show Bulgaria is fit to join the borderless EU Schengen travel zone.
Bulgaria and neighbouring Romania hope to join the Schengen zone in March, but Germany and France have asked Brussels to delay their entry, putting them under pressure to show the European Union they can successfully combat endemic corruption and organised crime. [ID:nLDE6BL0Q5]
"It has been discovered that for a long period of time, 14 Bulgarian border police officers working at the Danube Bridge border point (with Romania) have been extorting bribes from passing foreigners," the interior ministry said in a statement. Ten of those arrested will remain in custody for 72 hours, after which they will have to be charged or released, while four have been released on bail.
Bulgaria's centre-right minority government won a vote of confidence on Thursday, renewing support for its efforts to crack down on corruption and organised crime, still major problems four years after it joined the European Union. (Reporting by Irina Ivanova, editing by Tim Pearce)
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