Romania’s Chamber adopts integrity law with amendments to oust Timișoara mayor and force president’s partner to declare assets

What the Chamber adopted

On Monday evening, 3 August 2026, the Chamber of Deputies passed the new law on the National Integrity Agency (ANI) with 184 votes in favour, 2 against and 16 abstentions; 68 deputies did not vote. The text now moves to the Senate, the decision-making chamber, with committee debates set for Tuesday and a plenary vote scheduled for Wednesday. The law is a milestone under Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and must be adopted and published in the Official Monitor by 31 August to keep EU disbursements on track.

Two amendments dominate the adopted text. The Senate threw out an earlier version on Thursday 30 July for want of votes; PSD put its clause back in, and AUR added a second one that had not been in the rejected text. A PSD amendment stipulates that persons with a definitive finding of incompatibility or conflict of interest lose their mandate or function within 30 days of the law’s entry into force, even if the finding was made before the law existed. An AUR amendment obliges the spouses, partners and persons “having relations similar to those between spouses” of the president, MPs, ministers and other senior officials to file asset and interest declarations.

The two targets

Opposition parties say the amendments are tailored to hit two individuals. The PSD provision is aimed at Dominic Fritz, the USR mayor of Timișoara. On 18 June 2026 the High Court of Cassation and Justice confirmed an ANI finding that Fritz had been in a conflict of interest. Under the current law he is barred from holding elective office for three years, but his mandate is not automatically terminated. The new clause would force him out retroactively.

The AUR amendment targets Mirabela Grădinaru, the partner of President Nicușor Dan. She holds no public office, yet the provision would require her to disclose her assets and interests. AUR leader George Simion posted on Facebook after the committee vote: “Who is bothered that cohabiting partners also file asset declarations? Turn on the light 😅 Our amendment passed!” He added that those who wanted the law to cover only Fritz “wanted to protect someone at Cotroceni.”

Accusations of a political trade

PNL and USR both described the vote as a crude bargain. PNL vice-president Alexandru Muraru said the two parties had divided the targets between them.

PSD wanted Fritz’s head, and AUR wanted to turn Mirabela Grădinaru, the life partner of the president of Romania, into a target. They voted each other’s amendments. A primitive political trade: Fritz’s mandate in exchange for the private life of the president’s family.

PNL spokesperson Ionel Bogdan drew a parallel with the 2017 emergency ordinance that sparked mass protests: “OUG 13 was about saving one man. The PSD amendment to the Integrity Law is about eliminating one man.” He said a law written for one person “is no longer a law” but “an abuse of power”. The phrase “profoundly unconstitutional” came from interim prime minister Ilie Bolojan, who used it against the PSD amendment during the Senate debate on 30 July.

USR issued a statement accusing PSD and AUR of fabricating retroactive punishments “at the command of Sorin Grindeanu” and warned that the price would be paid by all Romanians when the country loses almost 800 million euros in PNRR funds.

At the command of Sorin Grindeanu, PSD and AUR insist on fabricating retroactive punishments to eliminate their opponents by pen, even if it means democratic vandalism and pushing Romania towards illiberalism.

EU funds in the balance

The law is a key PNRR milestone. PNL estimates that the contested amendments could cost Romania 770 million euros; USR puts the figure at almost 800 million euros. The government must adopt and publish the law by 31 August to avoid jeopardising the next tranche of European recovery money. Both parties argue that the retroactive sanctions and the extension of declaration duties to non-office-holders violate the constitution and a 2025 Constitutional Court ruling.

How many mandates are at stake

After the Chamber vote, ANI released data showing that 122 persons are currently under the three-year ban from holding public office following definitive conflict-of-interest or incompatibility findings. Of those, 47 still occupy positions that require asset and interest declarations, and 22 of them hold elective office. The PSD amendment would force out the 47 who still hold such positions within 30 days of the law taking effect; the remaining 75 hold no post the law reaches.

What comes next

The Senate’s specialised committees examine the bill on Tuesday, 4 August, and the plenary debate and vote are scheduled for Wednesday, 5 August. If the Senate adopts the law in its current form, it will be sent to President Nicușor Dan for promulgation. The president’s own partner is one of the amendment’s direct targets, a fact that opposition figures say adds a further constitutional and personal dimension to the decision awaiting him.