President Klaus Iohannis has accused Romania's government of ignoring the will of its own citizens by not adopting anti-corruption recommendations made by a European anti-graft body.
Iohannis said on July 10 that it was "extremely worrying" that Romania was still in the focus of European institutions.
A report by the Council of Europe's corruption-monitoring division said on July 9 that Romania had made "very little progress" to prevent corruption among parliament members, judges, and prosecutors and to address the concerns raised by its controversial judicial reform.
Iohannis said that the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Viorica Dancila's Social Democrat Party "got a red card once again" for the "damages made by this government by modifying the justice and penal laws."
Romania has faced international criticism because of legal changes considered to undermine anti-corruption efforts.
Dancila's party rejected Iohannis's criticism, saying that 14 other countries in Europe, including France and Germany, had yet to implement some of the recommendations made by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO).
Romania joined the EU alongside Bulgaria in 2007. Both countries remain under Brussels' monitoring due to concerns over corruption and the rule of law.
