[1] Prostitution was decriminalized in 2014, as the new Penal code of Romania, which came into force on 1 February 2014, no longer contains such a criminal offense.
Prior to that date, it was considered a criminal offense (infracţiune) punishable by up to a year imprisonment.
According to the official explanations of the Ministry of Justice, with regard to the new penal code "the fact that prostitution will be excluded from criminal penalties does not mean "legalizing "it, transforming the activity into one regulated or permitted by law, because the persons practicing prostitution will still be sanctioned with a contravention.
[3] In 2008 an EU-funded survey by TAMPEP found Romania was top country of origin of migrant sex workers in the EU.
[6] On January 20, 2010, Iana Matei was named "European of the Year" by Reader's Digest for finding and rehabilitating victims of forced prostitution.
In one case, a police officer was sentenced to two years imprisonment for repeated trafficking of minors and nine months for establishing a criminal enterprise.
[20] Articles 210, 211, and 367 of the penal code prohibit all forms of trafficking and prescribe penalties of three to 10 years imprisonment.