Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said Saturday evening that the government would hold an urgent meeting Sunday to repeal the decree.
The PM said that, those days, he heard many opinions, from party colleagues, the coalition, politicians, and “the voice of the street”.
”I don’t want to divide Romania. Romania can’t be split in two,” the PM said.
Late Tuesday, the Romanian government passed the amendments to the Criminal Code for the partial decriminalization of official misconduct, despite street protests. The decree would have decriminalized abuse of office offences involving sums of less than RON200,000 (EUR45,000).
Earlier this week, the President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker and First Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, said in a joint statement that the Romanian government should not undermine the fight against corruption, warning on potential backtracking.