April 25 (SeeNews) - The office of Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Thursday announced the two questions in a justice referendum scheduled for May 26, simultaneously with elections for the European Parliament.
Romanians will be asked the following questions: "Do you agree with banning amnesty and pardon for corruption offenses?" and "Do you agree with banning the adoption of emergency decrees on criminal offences, punishments and judicial organisation and with the extension of the right to challenge decrees directly before the Constitutional Court?", the presidential spokeswoman Madalina Dobrovolschi said on Thursday.
The president announced his proposal for a referendum in March, a month after the government adopted a controversial emergency decree amending justice laws. The new legislation sparked criticism from the European Commission, the Romanian judiciary and opposition parties and brought out thousands of Romanians to protest in the streets for two Sundays.
However, on Wednesday Romanian lawmakers approved two amendments to the criminal code that have been criticised both at home and abroad for threatening the independence of the judiciary and weakening the fight against corruption.