BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's lower house of parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to block an investigation by state prosecutors of former Finance Minister Daniel Chitoiu who they suspect abused his power to further the interests of a private insurance company.
The European Union has repeatedly raised concerns about a failure to tackle rampant high-level corruption in Romania and Bulgaria, its two poorest members, which have been kept outside the passport-free Schengen zone over the issue since their 2007 entry to the bloc.