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Viorica Dancila is expected to win parliamentary approval to become Romania's first female prime minister, and the third premier in a year.

The left-wing government faces protests and criticism from the European Union over legislation it is passing that critics say will make it hard to prosecute high-level corruption.

Dancila, a supporter of the proposals that include banning the use of audio and video recordings in prosecutions, is a member of the European Parliament and a relative unknown in domestic politics until this month.

She will likely act as an administrator, with government policy decided by powerful Social Democrat chairman Liviu Dragnea, who can't be premier due to a conviction for vote-rigging.

The 27 ministers, some themselves subjects of corruption probes, appeared before a parliament committee Monday, ahead of the vote.