BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's justice minister is asking the president to dismiss the country's top prosecutor, who has accused the government of undermining efforts to fight corruption.

Tudorel Toader said Thursday he was officially requesting that President Klaus Iohannis remove Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar from his post for mismanagement.

Lazar has been an outspoken critic of a judicial overhaul that critics say would make it harder to prosecute high-level corruption.

Also Thursday, Tudorel said he was asking Iohannis to appoint a regional prosecutor to the post of chief anti-corruption prosecutor even though Iohannis last month said Adina Florea was disqualified from the position for legal reasons.

Analysts say the developments reflect the government's determination to assert its right to decide its own laws as Romania prepares to take over the European Union's rotating presidency on Jan. 1