The Concordia Employers’ Confederation draws attention to the fact that the suspension, by the Romanian Government through an Emergency Ordinance, of some of the legal norms regarding the decision-making transparency and the social dialogue during the state of emergency can seriously undermine the trust between the state and the citizens, indispensable in this period of crisis.

“We refer to GEO 34/2020, adopted at the end of March, which derogates from these norms for normative acts that establish measures applicable during the state of emergency or which are a consequence of its establishment”, say Concordia officials.

“In these conditions, not only the fundamental social partnership between the Government, employers, unions and civil society is affected, but it also invites the other powers to proceed in the same manner. There is the real danger of interrupting the collaboration with both the Executive and the Legislature and local authorities, on certain projects that are not urgent, which can lead to serious slippages and regulations made without transparency.

It opens the possibility that any normative act referring to the COVID-19 pandemic – that is, a large part of the normative acts of the following period – has been exempted from endorsement by the Economic and Social Council or from other forms of decision-making transparency.

We understand the importance of the rapid adoption of exceptional measures, but the lack of transparency will contribute to diminishing the trust of the company in the law,” the press release states.

“Even this GEO, which we criticize, was adopted without the approval of the Economic and Social Council. The Concordia Employers’ Confederation, convinced of the good intentions of the Government, requests the reassessment of the provisions of GEO 34/2020. Only through dialogue and cooperation can we overcome the difficult moment generated by the COVID crisis 19. Neither the business environment, nor the unions nor the civil society can be excluded from the consultation process, because they are directly concerned by the elaborated acts, and their activity can be regulated through them.”