Bulgaria survives no-confidence vote

 * Opposition accuses govt of failing to fight graft, crime *

Bulgaria's centre-right government survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote on Tuesday called by the opposition which accuses it of failing to root out corruption and secure entry to the EU's passport-free Schengen zone.
Tensions are rising in the European Union's poorest member before local and presidential elections in October which will test Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, whose popularity has been hit by economic problems and delays to reforms.
Borisov's minority government won the vote by 143 to 91 with the backing of the nationalist party Attack and independent lawmakers. Despite the easy win, it needs to show tangible results in the fight against graft and organised crime as the elections loom.
Bulgaria and neighbouring Romania were supposed to join the Schengen zone, where border controls between member states have been scrapped, earlier this year. However, entry was delayed after France and Germany expressed concern over persistent corruption in the two former communist states.
The second Bulgarian no-confidence vote in six weeks had almost no chance of success, like the previous vote over the economy, and analysts say it was mainly aimed at raising the profile of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party.
The Socialists and the ethnic Turkish MRF party, junior partners in the previous Socialist-led cabinet, blamed Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov for the delayed Bulgarian entry to the Schengen zone and a rise in police violence and human rights violations.
Small explosions rocked the offices last week of two right-wing parties, which had said they would vote against the government, and they joined calls for Tsvetanov's resignation, saying he needed to work harder to restore the rule of law.
However, Borisov has said he will stay and there will be no cabinet reshuffle before the elections.
The European Commission told Sofia and Bucharest last week to work harder to combat corruption.