Thousands of people have gathered in Bucharest and other Romanian cities for protests against a Government decree that will free dozens of officials jailed for corruption. The largest protests since the fall of communism in 1989 have put pressure on the leftist government, led by Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu of the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
The Prime Minister says he will not withdraw the decree. However, President Klaus Iohannis announced that he will take the decree to the Constitutional Court, to stop the law. The ordinance decriminalizes official misconduct if the funds involved are less than 47,800 US dollar. Meanwhile, European Commission has urged the Romanian Government to urgently reconsider the decree and said if it is adopted, it could affect the EU funds that Romania gets.