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Southeast Europe
April 7, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 13
assessment of government members this week. This raised speculation that Toader, who was appointed earlier this year, could be removed from his position.
Toader, Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu and other members of the government are due to attend a meeting with the PSD leadership on April 5. The meeting is expected to be tense considering there are voices within the party asking for Toader’s resignation. Dragnea has said that the prime minister will decide on the matter.
The justice sector has been at the centre of a political storm in Romania in recent months, after the government adopted an emergency ordinance partly decriminalising abuse of
office. The decree was later repealed as the government faced mass protests, the biggest in the country since the fall of communism. The DNA enjoys a high level of support in the country and the removal of Kovesi from its helm would most likely result in another wave of protests.
The body has played an important role in Romania’s anti-graft fight in recent years and many high officials have been investigated and indicted, which would have been unlikely to happen years ago. Last year, the DNA indicted 1,271 people for corruption, including three ministers, the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, 17 MPs, 47 mayors, 16 magistrates and 21 managers of state companies. More than a quarter of them were indicted for abuse of office. Prosecutors say abuse of office caused damages of €260mn last year.