The Romanian government held an emergency meeting of government after protests that began on Thursday turned violent . . . more than 1,000 protesters clashed with police while complaining about declining standards of living . . . more than 30 people were injured on Sunday after protesters threw rocks and firecrackers and smoke bombs while riot police responded with tear gas . . . protests began after Raed Arafat, founder of Romania's emergency medical services, resigned from his position in the Health Ministry last week to criticize controversial health reforms . . . in response to the protests, Romanian President Traian Basescu dropped the proposed reforms on Friday saying, “The hospitals don't want the change, the (doctors) don't want the change and neither does the emergency health care system” . . . the opposition Social-Liberal Union (USL) party called for early elections, which are currently scheduled for late 2012 . . . the anti-austerity protests reflect the declining popularity of Basescu and the ruling Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) in the face of economic troubles . . . the Romanian government is taking the protests seriously in preparation for the upcoming elections.