The European Union (EU) on Wednesday bristled at Romania's emergency ordinance which partially decriminalizes the abuse of power, warning the country of backtracking in its fight against corruption.

"The fight against corruption needs to be advanced, not undone. We are following the latest developments in Romania with great concern," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said in a joint statement.

"The Commission warns against backtracking and will look thoroughly at the emergency ordinance on the Criminal Code and the Law on Pardons in this light," they added.

Romania's government on Tuesday unexpectedly adopted an emergency ordinance on amending Criminal Codes, redefining, and partially decriminalizing abuse of office offenses.

After the ordinance was adopted, Justice Minister Florin Iordache said that abuse of office was to be considered a crime only if the damages exceeded 200,000 leu (47,463 U.S. dollars).

The ordinance went into effect immediately, and was even applied to ongoing cases.

However, the opposition complained that the changes to the criminal law would likely prevent some politicians charged with crimes from being punished.

Soon after the approval of the ordinance, thousands of people in Bucharest gathered in front of the government headquarters. Protests were also held in other major cities throughout the country.

source: Xinhua