Romanian deputy premier resigns amid minority rights row

(BUCHAREST) - One of Romania's deputy prime ministers resigned from the government on Friday in a dispute over an international initiative calling for better the protection of minorities in the EU.

Kelemen Hunor, who was also culture minister and remains a member of Romania's Hungarian minority party, had railed against a government decision to oppose the drive by the Federal Union of European Nationalities, a non-governmental organisation, calling for the safeguarding of basic rights for minorities across the continent.

The group's initiative was rejected by the European Commission, which argued that the protection of minorities is the responsibility of individual member states. The case is currently at the European Court of Justice.

Romania, which joined the 28-member EU bloc in 2007, has a minority Hungarian population of roughly 1.4 million.