Laurențiu Rebega

MEP Laurentiu Rebega, at the time of the deeds Vice-President of the Prahova County Council, was prosecuted by the anti-corruption prosecutors in a case in which he is accused, among other things, of incitement to defraud with European funds and money laundering, the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) informs on Thursday.

While far-right parties have been gaining strength across the EU for years, Romania has for some years prided itself on having no such equivalent in its mainstream politics.

That may change, however, as Romanian nationalists prepare to launch the "National Force", a party that models itself on France's far-right National Front.