BUCHAREST, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Romania's month-old government expects to easily survive a no-confidence motion and "get back to work" on Wednesday, the prime minister said, after mass street protests forced it into an embarrassing U-turn over a graft decree.

Critics said the decree, which also drew condemnation from Romania's Western allies, would have turned back the clock on the fight against corruption in the ex-communist nation. The government rescinded the decree on Sunday.

Despite the scale of the protests, the largest Romania has seen since the 1989 fall of communism, the ruling Social Democrats and their allies have a large majority in parliament after winning a December election.

"This motion has no scope and no target," Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu told lawmakers at the start of the debate on the motion. "I do hope that as of today we get back to work."

Grindeanu, whose government has been badly shaken by the protests, pledged not to consider any further initiatives similar to the decree "that could awake powerful emotions in society without proper and wide debate".

The decree would have decriminalised a number of graft offences and effectively shielded dozens of public officials from prosecution for graft.

Before the debate, around a dozen protesters wrote RESIST in the snow that had fallen overnight in front of the government headquarters. But the number of people attending daily protests - which reached a quarter of a million on Sunday - has fallen sharply since the government's climbdown.

The text of the no-confidence motion, signed by 123 members of opposition parties, read: "Romanian society has been betrayed and the citizen has been lied to by those who were granted his vote during the election."

Raluca Turcan, the leader of the centre-right National Liberal party, told the debate: "The only solution is your urgent resignation. You must pay with your jobs."

Social Democrat sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, have told Reuters they expect Justice Minister Florin Iordache to submit his resignation on Wednesday.

Parliament must still endorse the government's decision to rescind the graft decree. That vote is expected to come towards the end of the week. (Additional reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Matt Robinson and Gareth Jones)</s>BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romanian Justice Minister Florin Iordache resigned on Thursday after a decree on corruption that he drafted triggered a week of street protests, international criticism and finally an embarrassing climbdown by the month-old government.

Romanian Justice Minister Florin Iordache walks after delivering a speech following his resignation in Bucharest, Romania February 9, 2017. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea/ via REUTERS

The decree would have effectively shielded dozens of public officials from prosecution for graft and was widely viewed as reversing Romania’s drive to tackle endemic corruption. The government rescinded the decree on Sunday after the biggest protests in the country since the fall of communism in 1989.

“Ever since I arrived at the justice ministry I have ...done all legal steps to fix a series of existing and fairly sensitive problems,” Iordache told reporters.

“As you have seen, all the initiatives I have undertaken are legal and constitutional. However, this was not enough for public opinion, so I have decided to submit my resignation.”

Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said European Affairs Minister Ana Birchall would also hold the justice portfolio until a permanent replacement for Iordache was chosen.

President Klaus Iohannis has the final say in approving ministerial replacements.

Iohannis, a former leader of the center-right opposition, strongly criticized the government over the decree. He has also called for a national referendum on continuing the fight against corruption.

The government easily survived a vote of no-confidence on Wednesday as it has a large parliamentary majority following an election in December. Parliament must still endorse the government’s decision to rescind the decree.

Earlier on Thursday Romania’s constitutional court said it would not rule on the decree as it had now been ditched. The country’s ombudsman had earlier asked the court to intervene.

Anti-government demonstrators took to the streets for a tenth consecutive day on Thursday, though numbers have fallen sharply since Sunday when a quarter of a million people took part in capital Bucharest.

An estimated 2,000 people, braving temperatures of -5 degrees Celsius (23 Fahrenheit), gathered outside government headquarters to demand the cabinet’s resignation. Protesters also rallied in other cities.</s>The move comes after 10 days of widespread protests against the corruption reforms rocked the nation.

In a televised statement on Thursday, Iordache said: "Ever since I came to the Justice Ministry, I planned and I also performed all legal procedures to correct a number of sensitive existing problems. As you've seen yourself, all my initiatives that I have assumed are legal and constitutional. The proposed projects have been out for public debate and now they are in parliamentarian debate.

"However, this wasn't enough for public opinion, so I have decided to resign from the post of Justice Minister."

Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu had asked Iordache to prepare a draft law similar to the controversial decree, which the government repealed earlier this week.

The decree would have decriminalized corruption that caused damage worth less than about $48,000 (200,000 lei). It also would have halted all investigations for pending corruption offenses, prevented further cases related to these offenses to be brought into justice, and freed some officials imprisoned for corruption.</s>Iordache's resignation comes after 10 days of widespread protests against the corruption reforms rocked the nation. The government repealed the decree earlier this week.

In a televised statement on Thursday, Iordache said: "Ever since I came to the Justice Ministry, I planned and I also performed all legal procedures to correct a number of sensitive existing problems. As you've seen yourself, all my initiatives that I have assumed are legal and constitutional. The proposed projects have been out for public debate and now they are in parliamentarian debate.

"However, this wasn't enough for public opinion, so I have decided to resign from the post of Justice Minister."

On Thursday, Romania's Constitutional Court dismissed all arguments previously filed against the decree.

Earlier this week Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu had asked Iordache to prepare a draft law similar to the controversial decree. The decree would have decriminalized corruption that caused damage worth less than about $48,000 (200,000 lei). It also would have halted all investigations for pending corruption offenses, prevented further cases related to these offenses to be brought into justice, and freed some officials imprisoned for corruption. This could have benefited politicians such as Liviu Dragnea, president of the Social Democrat Party, which recently took power. Dragnea is under investigation over abuse of power allegations and had also previously received a two-year suspended sentence for an elections offense. Demonstrations calling for the resignation of the entire Social Democrat-led government -- which introduced the measure -- are expected to continue this week.</s>Romania’s justice minister has resigned following the largest street protests in the country since the fall of communism in 1989.

Florin Iordache was one of the architects of an emergency ordinance passed by the government on 31 January that would have decriminalised some official misconduct offences.

The government said the order and another draft bill on jail pardons were needed to ease prison overcrowding and bring the criminal code into line with recent constitutional court rulings. But many Romanians believed the proposal would set back the country’s anti-corruption efforts, and hundreds of thousands took to the streets in protest.

“I have decided to offer my resignation,” Iordache told reporters on Thursday, adding that all of his initiatives were “legal and constitutional”.

The resignation was not unexpected. On Wednesday, the prime minister, Sorin Grindeanu, announced that he had already made up his mind regarding the fate of Iordache, but would delay making the decision public until after a meeting of the government on Thursday.



Florin Jianu, the business minister, had resigned over the ordinance on 2 February, writing on Facebook: “I don’t want to have to tell my child that I was a coward and I agreed to something that I don’t believe in ... This is what my conscience tells me to do.”



Last weekend the government backed down and repealed the ordinance, although half a million people nevertheless demonstrated across the country on Sunday evening.

Protests have continued this week, albeit in smaller numbers. There have also been calls for the resignation of Liviu Dragnea, the leader of the governing Social Democratic party, who faces charges of defrauding the state of €24,000 (£20,400).

On Wednesday the government survived a vote of no confidence brought by the opposition. A day earlier the country’s president, Klaus Iohannis, addressing parliament, blamed the government for causing the crisis.



Radu Magdin, an analyst for a political consulting company, said Iordache’s resignation would help the government’s cause.

“Iordache is now hated by a lot of people, so for the moment this will definitely help decrease the numbers protesting and calm the mood,” he said. “His departure is to show that the Social Democrats have learned their lesson, and it will have an effect.”</s>Florin Iordache, co-architect of controversial corruption measure that set off rallies, resigns citing 'public opinion'.

Romania's justice minister has resigned after huge nationwide protests over government efforts to weaken anti-corruption laws through a decree.

Florin Iordache's resignation on Thursday came as rallies calling for the government to resign continued despite the Social Democratic-led leadership's pledge to scrap the decree, which would have decriminalised some corruption offences.

"I have decided to offer my resignation," said Iordache, 56, a co-architect of the January emergency rule which critics say would have protected corrupt politicians from prosecution.

He defended his record at the justice ministry saying he carried out "all necessary actions to remedy a series of sensitive problems".

"But despite that, public opinion did not consider it sufficient, and that's why I have decided to submit my resignation."

Iordache said all of his "initiatives were legal and constitutional".

Against this turbulent backdrop, Sorin Grindeanu, Romania's prime minister, survived a no-confidence vote on Wednesday despite the ongoing protests.

Bowing to pressure, the government scrapped the ordinance on Sunday as up to 500,000 people protested across the country.

The rallies were the largest protests since the fall of communist rule in 1989.

In a related development on Thursday, Romania's constitutional court said it would not rule on the decree.

The decree was referred to the court by Victor Ciorbea, the national ombudsman, on February 3, two days before the Social Democrats withdrew it.

"This decree does not exist anymore. It was scrapped [by the government]," said Valer Dorneanu, the court president.

"We start from the truth that the emergency decree no longer exists."

The withdrawal must still be approved by parliament.

Asked what would happen if parliament does not do so, Dorneanu said: "We don't judge based on suppositions."</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said Monday he was considering firing the justice chief over his handling of the scrapped decree that sought to relax anti-corruption rules.

The embattled minister argued on Thursday that all legal initiatives he had taken responsibility for were "lawful and constitutional."

"I have decided to resign from the post of justice minister," Iordache told reporters, as quoted by the Romanian news agency Аgerpres.

Thousands of people took to the streets in Romania last week to express their discontent over amendments to the country’s Criminal Code issued by the government. The amendments envisaged reduced penalties for some graft offenses and pardon for several groups of prisoners. Although the amendments were repealed on Sunday, the protests demanding the resignation of the government have continued.</s>BUCHAREST, Feb 9 Romanian Justice Minister Florin Iordache resigned on Thursday after a decree on corruption that he had drafted triggered a week of mass street protests, international criticism and finally an embarrassing climbdown by the month-old government. The decree would have effectively shielded dozens of public officials from prosecution for graft and was widely viewed as reversing Romania's drive to tackle endemic graft.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters.</s>Romanian Justice Minister Florin Iordache resigned on Thursday after a decree on corruption that he had drafted triggered a week of mass street protests, international criticism and finally an embarrassing climbdown by the month-old government.

The decree would have effectively shielded dozens of public officials from prosecution for graft and was widely viewed as reversing Romania’s drive to tackle endemic graft. The government rescinded the decree on Sunday after the biggest protests seen in the country since the 1989 fall of communism.

“I’ve submitted my resignation. I say that all that I’ve done was legal,” Iordache told reporters.

The ruling Social Democrats will now propose a replacement and submit the name to President Klaus Iohannis, who has the right to reject it.

Iohannis, a former leader of the centre-right opposition, has strongly criticised the government over the decree. He has also launched a process to hold a national referendum on continuing the fight against corruption.

The government easily survived a vote of no-confidence on Wednesday as it has a large parliamentary majority following an election in December. Parliament must still endorse the government’s decision to rescind the decree.

Earlier on Thursday Romania’s constitutional court said it would not rule on the decree as it had now been ditched. The country’s ombudsman had earlier asked the court to intervene.

The number of anti-government protesters on the streets of Bucharest and other cities has fallen sharply since Sunday, when a quarter of a million people took part.

On Wednesday evening a hardcore group of about 5,000 braved snow and subzero temperatures to demand the resignation of the entire cabinet, chanting “We exist, we resist!”</s>Romanian Justice Minister Florin Iordache walks after delivering a speech following his resignation in Bucharest, Romania February 9, 2017. — Reuters pic

BUCHAREST, Feb 10 — Romania’s justice minister resigned yesterday, becoming the first major political casualty of a government effort to roll back anti-corruption laws which backfired, sparking nationwide outrage.

The offending emergency decree issued last week was scrapped on Sunday in the face of the country’s biggest protests since the end of communism in 1989.

Those protests have continued, with many now calling for the entire left-wing government to quit.

The minister, Florin Iordache, defended the legislation, saying all his “initiatives were legal and constitutional”.

“But despite that, public opinion did not consider it sufficient, and that’s why I have decided to submit my resignation,” the 56-year-old told reporters.

Hundreds of thousands of Romanians have protested over the past week, culminating in half a million people in the streets on Sunday, according to media estimates.

Iordache is from the ruling Social Democrats (PSD), which won a thumping election victory only in December.

His successor has not yet been named.

Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu’s government easily survived a no-confidence motion on Wednesday thanks to its solid majority in parliament.

The proposed changes would have made abuse of power a crime punishable by jail only if the amount of money involved exceeded 200,000 lei (RM210,852).

Yesterday, a much smaller but fiery crowd of 2,500 still turned out to protest in central Bucharest, waving Romanian and European Union flags and holding placards reading “We are fighting for principles and values”.

Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu sought to reassure the public yesterday that the government would listen and take their concerns into account when considering future legal amendments.

“This process will take time,” he added.

However the government is separately aiming to change the law to release 2,500 people serving prison sentences for non-violent crimes of less than five years.

Grindeanu has said the aim was to bring penal law into line with the constitution and to reduce overcrowding in prisons.

But critics see the move as a brazen attempt to let off the many lawmakers who have been ensnared in a major anti-corruption drive in recent years.

The head of the country’s anti-corruption force told AFP in an interview that the fight against graft was far from being won, despite the government’s withdrawal of the decree.

The “danger is not ruled out” because such attempts to change laws are likely to happen again, said Laura Codruta Kovesi, chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Wednesday that after the recent “incredible progress”, Bucharest should not start “running in the other direction”.

The US State Department also expressed its deep concern. Corruption has long been a major problem since Romania joined the European Union as its second-poorest member in 2007. — AFP
Romanian Justice Minister Florin Iordache resigns after losing the support of Prime-Minister Sorin Grindeanu.