\n
<\/p>\n
The coronavirus pandemic has generated a lot of heated
\ndiscussions worldwide about how to solve the current health crisis while also
\naddressing the economic crisis. Romania, where some one million people have
\nseen their work contracts suspended, is no stranger to such debates. The government
\nhas already taken some measures to support the business environment and, by
\nextension, employees, and is still looking for solutions to diminish the impact
\nof the pandemic on the economy. According to initial estimates, the Romanian
\neconomy shrank by 30-40% during the first month of the state of emergency
\ninstated in mid-March. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The economy minister Virgil Popescu, who made an x-ray
\nof the situation in an interview on Radio Romania, explains why in his opinion
\nthis drop does not reflect the real state of affairs:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
When we come out of this state of emergency and
\nhave clear confirmation that the pandemic is on a falling trend, we will be
\nable to see exactly how the economy starts to recover. As I’ve said before, the
\ncar making industry is very slowly beginning to recover, and the car parts industry
\nbegan to pick up again on 13 April. The companies in the textile sector have
\nmoved quickly and have begun to produce essential materials such as face masks,
\ncoveralls, coats and shoe covers for medical use.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The economy minister says he is expecting other
\nindustries to resume activity and for some to even readapt very quickly. Virgil
\nPopescu:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
I think the energy industry will recover very
\nquickly. The national energy grid has worked very well, has been very stable,
\nthere were no problems. However, there’s been a visible drop in consumption,
\nand a drop in consumption obviously leads to a drop in revenues, in profits. I’ve
\nasked energy companies to come up with a very clear plan of investments for the
\nnext five years, with very clear deadlines. Let’s not forget that Romania is engaged
\nin the Green Deal European project and there’s a lot of investment to be made,
\nso I think some very extensive investments will be launched in this area. In
\nthe defence industry, following talks I’ve been having with the ministry of
\ndefence for the last two weeks, we’ve decided to kick off the strategic projects
\nwe began before this crisis, projects that must be continued. I’m also
\nfollowing closely the relocation of certain industries away from Asia, China in
\nparticular, and I won’t rest until I convince some companies to reinvest and
\nstart new production lines here in Romania.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Another sensitive area is the entire hospitality
\nindustry, which has been very badly hit by the crisis. Minister Virgil Popescu is
\ncautious about the restart of the Romanian tourist sector very soon, but says a
\npackage of measures is being considered to help hotel owners reduce their
\nmaintenance costs. The state is also looking at ways to help restaurants, caf\u00e9s
\nand bars to make the necessary adjustments for when they reopen in order to keep
\ntheir customers safe. (CM)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Romanian economy must restart engines, politicians in Bucharest agree, while government is looking at new measures to support this process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":85599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[29822,29212,35416],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-85598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-crisis","tag-economy","tag-pandemic"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n