BUCHAREST: Romania will remain a stable country, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said Friday as parliament debated a controversial move to impeach his political rival, President Traian Basescu.

“I want to express in a very clear manner the government's position in the face of the legitimate concerns of our European and international partners in this period of political crisis,” Ponta said in a statement.

“Romania will remain a stable country where the rule of law, the constitution, European and international standards will be respected,” he said.

Rights groups inside the country have denounced what they call the authoritarian tendencies of the ruling Liberal Social Union (USL) coalition.

Fellow EU members France and Germany have in recent days urged Romania to respect the rule of law as the political crisis developed.

The US ambassador to Romania also expressed Washington's concern in a speech to mark US Independence Day on Wednesday.

Romanian lawmakers are due to vote later Friday on a motion to impeach Basescu as one of the country's worst political crises in the post-communist era comes to a head.

Government deputies charge that he improperly assumed the powers of the prime minister when he announced drastic austerity cuts in 2010.

They also say he infringed the independence of the judiciary.

Under the constitution, the president can be deprived of his powers by parliament for “serious” violation of the basic law.