BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) – Romania’s government decriminalized official misconduct overnight Wednesday, defying mass protests and warnings from prosecutors and the president that the move will reverse the country’s fight against corruption.
An emergency ordinance decriminalizing abuse in office was published at 3 a.m. in the official government monitor and will soon automatically become law.
The development alarmed critics with the hour and the speed in which the center-left government, less than one month in office, passed a proposal that will benefit government allies and Romanian officials facing corruption charges.
“It shows that the government is willing to use backdoor methods with no scrutiny or checks and balances in order to protect and promote itself,” said Dan Brett, an associate professor at the Open University.
President Klaus Iohannis called the measure’s adoption “a day of mourning for the rule of law.”