Romanian President Vows to Keep Fighting Corruption

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis told MEPs on Tuesday that he is determined to remain involved in the fight against corruption, as European officials expressed concerns two months before Romania is scheduled to take over the European Council's six-month rotating presidency.

"I don't want to get into the details of the domestic debate, but I can assure you that I am determined to remain involved to guarantee democratic values, the rule of law and the continuation of a tough but just fight against corruption," Iohannis told the MEPs.

European Commission chief Jean Claude Juncker told Iohannis on Tuesday that he hopes Romania will reach consensus on the rule of law and corruption by the end of the year, or it will damage the country's chances of joining the Schengen agreement.

Iohannis's positive pro-European speech comes two weeks after Romania's Social Democrat Prime Minister Viorica Dancila offered a completely different vision of the Romanian government's stance within the European Union, as her party accused Brussels of interfering too much in Romania's domestic affairs.

Dancila was summoned to the European Parliament on October 3 to answer questions about her cabinet as well as the Romanian ruling party's justice policies which have been described as damaging for the rule of law by decision-makers in Brussels.

"Romania is a European country and will surely not stray from the pro-European path and I tell you this as a former colleague. Please trust Romania," Dancila said at the time.

Romania's ruling Social Democrats have pushed for changes to the judiciary that would reduce the independence of prosecutors and remove some corruption offences from the criminal codes.

The moves triggered Romania's biggest street protests...