Romanian MPs endorse law against extremism returned by president for review

The Chamber of Deputies, as a decision-making body, adopted the Law on Combating Antisemitism and Xenophobia on December 17, after the law was first referred to the Constitutional Court and then sent back to Parliament for re-examination by president Nicușor Dan, who indicated ambiguous formulations in the text that would excessively extend its scope, making abuses possible.

The president's objections were rejected, first by the Constitutional Court, then by the lawmakers, so the draft passed in the form in which it was first adopted and must be promulgated, Digi24 reported.

The draft law, containing amendments to a law with the same scope, initiated by the president of the Jewish Communities in Romania, MP Silviu Vexler, was voted for by 173 MPs. However, there were also 106 votes against, six abstentions, and two MPs did not vote.

The isolationist party AUR, although not openly against the law, has severely criticised the initiator and has supposedly provided the votes against the bill. Party representatives invoked cultural figures who also had antisemitic rhetoric, arguing along a line of reasoning not entirely coherent that "any citizen, regardless of their religion, must feel protected and respected by the Romanian state."

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