History of Romania since 1989 unstable coalitions which have been subject to similar allegations. During the period Romania has become more closely integrated with the West, becoming a member of NATO in 2004 and of the European Union in 2007. 1989 marked the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. A mid-December protest in Timișoara against the eviction of a Hungarian minister (László Tőkés) grew into a country-wide protest against the Ceaușescu régime, sweeping the dictator from power. On 21 December, President Nicolae Ceaușescu had his apparatus gather a mass-meeting in Bucharest downtown in an attempt to rally popular support for his regime and publicly condemn
Nicolae Pătrașcu Nevertheless, his funding was irregular, and overall viewed as insufficient by Nicolae and his retinue, who were increasingly dependent on pawnbrokers. The former Prince eventually settled in Tyrnau, to the west of Habsburg Hungary (in present-day Slovakia). From Tyrnau, he litigated over his father's remaining assets, which were still in the Empire's custody, and also demanded Kynsburg Castle, in Lower Silesia, which had been promised to Michael. In 1605, the "Geheimrat" recognized that Nicolae was owed 15,000 thaler from his father's possessions, but failed to enforce this ruling, leaving Nicolae to issue a formal protest to the Hungarian Diet of