European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and First Vice President Frans Timmermans on Wednesday asked the Romanian parliament to rethink changes to laws governing the judiciary, which have raised concerns about the country’s fight against corruption.

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The justice laws are “an important test of the extent to which the legitimate interests of judicial and other stakeholders are given an opportunity to be voiced, and are taken sufficiently into account in the final decisions,” Juncker and Timmermans said in a joint statement.

Tens of thousands of Romanians protested on Saturday against the changes, passed by the parliament in December, which include new sanctions against judges and prosecutors thought to have acted in bad faith. However, many believe they will allow political corruption to go unpunished.

Juncker and Timmermans on Wednesday slammed the Romanian authorities for not doing anything to address the Commission’s concerns about the changes, as set out in a November 2017 report as part of the EU’s anti-corruption monitoring scheme for Romania and Bulgaria.

Brussels asked the parliament to put the changes up for debate and “build a broad consensus on the way forward.” MPs from the ruling coalition — the Social Democrats (PSD) and its junior liberal partner ALDE — pushed through the changes last year despite vocal criticism from judges and prosecutors, opposition parties and civil society organizations.

The country’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday said that a change to the law setting up a judicial section dedicated to the prosecution of judges and magistrates was legal, national media reported. The court is due to rule on January 30 if changes to the legal status of magistrates and the organization of the Superior Magistrates Council are also in line with the constitution.

“The independence of Romania’s judicial system and its capacity to fight corruption effectively are essential cornerstones of a strong Romania in the European Union,” Juncker and Timmermans said.

Juncker has said that he would like to see the EU’s anti-corruption mechanism lifted for Romania by the end of his mandate next year, but the latest changes have called that into question.