political influence. The vote was tabled by the Conservative Party, with support from the other opposition parties, primarily the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the nationalist Greater Romania Party. The number of votes against Macovei on the measure indicated that many senators from her own center-right governing bloc did not support her. The Constitutional Court, however, ruled that the vote of no confidence did not force her to resign and she remained in office, with the public support of the Prime Minister. A number of MPs from several parties, however, continued to call on Macovei to step down regardless of the Constitutional Court's decision. Several said they based their vote on her failure to communicate with the Parliament. European Commissioner for Justice Franco Frattini came out quickly in support of Macovei following the motion, stating publicly that he "held Macovei in high regard." Other European officials also expressed support for her. The Social Democratic Party Deputy Speaker of the German Bundestag warned that Macovei's dismissal as a result of the parliamentary motion could lead the EU to invoke the safe guard clauses the EU introduced to prevent Romania from abandoning reform efforts after it joined the EU. The European Commission (EC) however, officially took a neutral position, with the EC spokesman stating "this vote is a domestic issue for Romania and cannot be commented upon.” In addition, there was a demonstration against the Parliament in support of Macovei by a number of civil society organizations, including Freedom House, the Romanian Academic Society and APADOR-CH, with organizers stating that MPs passed the motion against Macovei because they were worried by her push for more transparency and stricter controls on conflicts of interest. Transparency International condemned the anti-Macovei motion, stating that the text voted by the Senate was "written in a superficial manner and motivated by political reasons, ignoring the principle of independence of judiciary." Journalist Traian Ungureanu said "We do not want our country to be stolen by a few oligarchs in the Parliament." International media described the vote of no-confidence as an attempt to derail reforms, including Macovei's efforts to create the National Integrity Agency, which would examine legislators' accounts. The Economist described the motion against Macovei as a by-product of the feud between the Prime Minister and the President. The on-line journal Southeast Europe Times noted that Macovei had several public disputes with judges on the Superior Council of