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Romania: government retracts controversial decree after protests Romania: government retracts controversial decree after protests
(about 1 hour later)
Romania’s government is to scrap a decree decriminalising some corruption offences, Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said on Saturday, after an estimated 140,000 demonstrators protested against the law a stone’s throw from his office. The Romanian government has backed down from plans to decriminalise corruption offences after days of mass protests in Bucharest.
“We’ll hold an extraordinary meeting on Sunday to repeal the decree, withdraw, cancel it … you understand, and find a legal way to make sure it does not take effect,” Grindeanu said in televised speech from the cabinet’s headquarters. The prime minister, Sorin Grindeanu, said that the law would be repealed in a cabinet meeting on Sunday after an estimated 140,000 demonstrators protested against the law close to his office. It was the fifth consecutive night of protests against the proposal.
“I do not want to divide Romania,” he went on, prompting celebrations among those protesting outside. Protesters are angry the measure will water down the country’s anti-corruption fight against politicians and senior officials. The anti-corruption drive was prompted by a nightclub blaze that killed 64 people, which was blamed on corrupt officials turning a blind eye to fire regulations.
Călin Tăriceanu, head of the ALDE party – a junior partner of the ruling Social Democrats – told Romania TV: “This [happens] because we have nothing to hide.” “We’ll hold an extraordinary meeting on Sunday to repeal the decree, withdraw, cancel it … and find a legal way to make sure it does not take effect,” Grindeanu said in a televised speech.
The news came after a fifth consecutive day of protests against the proposed law, which saw tens of thousands of Romanians take to the streets all around the country. An even bigger turnout had been predicted for Sunday. The prime minister said the proposal would be sent to the Romanian parliament for debate, which experts warn is not likely to appease protesters, who want the proposal to be cancelled completely.
Grindeanu said the proposal would be sent to parliament for debate. The prime minister said he did not want to “divide Romania” and that “Romania in this moment seems broken in two.” The country’s constitutional court is expected to rule next week on whether the measure was legal. “I don’t want to divide Romania … it can’t be divided in two. Romania in this moment seems broken in two,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday the coalition government had hinted that it was considering backing down on the legislation. Liviu Dragnea, head of the ruling Social Democratic party, had told DC News that he was meeting Grindeanu to propose a solution. “We can possibly talk about repealing the decree, if the prime minister agrees,” Dragnea had said. The decree was due to come into force at midnight on Friday. Under its proposed terms it would have decriminalised abuse of power offences when sums of less than €44,000 (£38,000) are involved.
The overtures were not, however, enough to deter protesters. Thousands of Romanians formed a human chain around the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest and there were also large-scale protests in the cities of Cluj, Timişoara, Sibiu, Constanța and Braşov. One immediate beneficiary would have been Liviu Dragnea who leads the ruling PSD party and faces charges of defrauding the state of €24,000.
The government had come under increasing pressure at home and abroad to repeal the emergency decree passed on Wednesday, which watered down the country’s anti-corruption measures. Under the terms of the law, abuse of power would be a crime punishable by jail only if the sums involved exceeded 200,000 lei (£38,000). The country’s constitutional court is expected to rule next week on whether the measure was legal. The EU had warned Romania against undoing progress against corruption.
A separate bill to go before parliament would free about 2,500 prisoners on short sentences.
The government said it was bringing legislation into line with the constitution and reducing overcrowding in prisons.
The protests, which have witnessed huge crowds in Bucharest and other major cities, have been the largest since the fall of communism in 1989.