Romanian President Klaus Iohannis asked Prime Minister Viorica Dancila to resign on Friday after the government approved a secret memorandum to move the Romanian Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and failed to consult the president on it.
"Mrs. Dancila does not cope with her position of prime minister of Romania and thus it turns the government into a vulnerability for Romania. That is why I call publicly for her resignation," Iohannis said in a statement.
The Romanian government's backing for the embassy move drew a warning from the president that doing so could break international law.
Under Romanian legislation, the final say on the embassy relocation belongs to the president, who said he had not been consulted. Dancila paid a state visit to Israel this week and did not consult the president before leaving the country.
Chairman of the ruling Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea joined Dancila on her visit to Israel to skip a hearing on corruption charges.
He was expected to attend court Wednesday, but the Romanian parliament confirmed just as the hearing began that Dragnea had joined Dancila on her visit to Israel.
Dragnea is accused of intervening to keep two women on the payroll of a family welfare agency even though they were employed by the party. He denies wrongdoing.
