Romania's Parliament Approves Anti-Corruption Referendum

Lawmakers in Romania passed on Monday referendum proposal under which citizens will have a say on whether fight against corruption should continue.

The national poll was triggered by President Klaus Iohannis, who openly sided with hundreds of thousands of protesters earlier in February after the government tried to decriminalize certain abuse-of-office cases.

Iohannis is yet to formulate the questions and set a date.

The move was backed unanimously by Parliament's plenary sitting, according to the Romania Journal.

The social democrat government of Sorin Grindeanu earlier this year passed an emergency ordinance under which abuse of office worth less than 44 000 was not to be considered a crime. The move sparked nationwide protests and the decree was retracted.