Thousands of people in Bucharest and other cities in Romania have protested against the government’s judicial reforms. „Justice, no corruption“ or „Take them off (the changes) and go“ chanted the demonstrators in front of the government headquarters in the capital. Many of them waved flags of the European Union.
In the capital, the media estimated that about 10,000 people took to the streets, smaller demonstrations took place in at least ten other cities.
The renewed protests are in response to an emergency decree issued by the government last Tuesday: it provides for major changes to the appointment procedure at the prosecutorial level. According to critics, the government is given more influence. In addition, powers were withdrawn from the Attorney General.
In protest against this regulation, the prosecutors in Bucharest and five other cities want to strike for several days on Monday.
In direct contradiction to Commission recommendations
„What happens in Romania is a challenge for the European Union as a whole: Will it give way to the corrupt?“ Asked the 68-year-old retired engineer Paul Tautu. „If she does that, that’s the beginning of the end.“
The European Commission had sharply criticized the government’s recent intervention in the country’s justice system on Wednesday. The Authority is „following with great concern recent developments in the rule of law,“ said a spokesperson in Brussels. „Both the content and the procedure of the recent amendments using emergency decrees“ seemed „in direct contradiction“ with Commission recommendations.
Romania has held the biannually rotating Presidency of the EU Council of Member States since January.
