Although there have been significant improvements, corruption remains an issue, affecting many areas of life. Despite the fact that Romanian law and regulations contain provisions intended to prevent corruption, enforcement has generally been weak until recently. The image of Romania was badly affected by the 2012 political crisis, when the European Commission expressed concerns about the rule of law. The Commission also criticised Romania for failing to root out corruption and political influence in its state institutions. The 2017 Romanian protests were massive public protests against government plans of decriminalizing certain forms of corruption.