Romanian Prime-Minister Emil Boc (in picture) announced his resignation during a Government meeting on Monday morning ( February 6 ).  He said that he had to step down from his position to let somebody else consolidate what the Government has done so far and to ease the social situation in the country. He has faced a wave of protests against him and the President in the last three weeks.

Emil Boc also defended unpopular decisions he made during his mandate, saying they were made for the good of the country.

“I want to thank the Romanian people because they have saved Romania. Romanians saved the  economy and saved the country from economic collapse,” he said. "I had to make extremely tough and painful decisions, after sleepless nights and with a lot of unease. [...] But we cleaned up and made the country better," said Boc at the end of a short Government meeting on Monday morning.

Boc has been the Prime Minister since 2008. During his mandate, Romania contracted two loans from the International Monetary Fund and went through one of the toughest economic periods after the fall of communism. Upon stepping down, Boc highlighted Romania's high growth and low unemployment, compared to the rest of the EU.

The Governing coalition is yet to announce Boc's successor. Analysts say a technocrat may be favored for the job.

by Alex Camburu, Corina Saceanu 

editor@romania-insider.com