Romanians Protest Changes in Anti-Corruption Law

The Polish Institute of International Affairs is an analytical institution established by an act of Parliament in 1996 to carry out research and provide expertise in international affairs. PISM disseminates information on contemporary international issues and maintains contacts with academic and political centres in Poland and abroad. The Institute runs courses for public servants, maintains a library (open to the public; 165,000 books and journals), organises conferences, and publishes books, periodicals and documents on Polish foreign policy and international matters.

The funding for PISM comes from the budget. The director is appointed by the prime minister for a term of five years, following consultation with the minister of foreign affairs. The minister supervises the Institute and appoints its advisory council, which includes a representative of the President of the Republic of Poland, academics and officials.The largest protests in 2017 in Romania since 1989 were caused by the interpretation of two emergency government ordinances as an attempt to paralyse the fight against corruption, which had been effective for a few years. Although the government withdrew the projects, the demonstrations continued, with protesters seeing it as just a temporary concession. They fear the ruling parties, which had politicians threatened with criminal trials, would undertake a new attempt to change the country’s anti-corruption laws. The credibility of Romania as an international partner could be undermined by a deterioration of its image in this respect and that also would have negative repercussions for Poland.