The reform of the Romanian justice system must continue at a sustained pace and MPs must adopt a new law monitoring the wealth of public officials as soon as possible, Romanian PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu said in a speech before the Parliament on Wednesday.

His speech was welcomed by opposition Senators, as Tariceanu’s Liberals (PNL) are involved in a major quarrel with their governing partners, the Democrats (PD), which may lead to the breakup of the coalition now in power.

Tariceanu’s speech came a day after Liberal sources told the media that the PNL was trying to remove Justice minister Monica Macovei and possibly all Democratic ministers from the Government.

Macovei is the one to have initiated a bill for the establishment of ANI, an institution due to keep in check the wealth of politicians, as EU has been pressing for moves to put an end to high-profile corruption in Romania.

But Macovei’s bill has been changed and watered down repeatedly in the Parliament.

During his speech today, Tariceanu said his government would stick to his promise to pursue justice reform and was worried because the ANI law was still waiting for adoption. But he blamed the situation on other political issues - the repeated scandals that have marred the relations between the governing parties, the President and various factions within the Parliament.