European money is the next thing to look at, and Romania can access 3 billion euro from the 37 billion euro fund recently announced by the European Commission, strictly for the consequences of COVID-19, Radu Burnete, executive director of the „Concordia“ Employers› Confederation said on Thursday.

„We have proposed a series of hundreds of measures to the Government. Some of them were present in what Mr Orban has announced, but we are convinced that in the coming days we will also discuss other ideas we have, to support the economy. I think the next thing we need to look at is the European money. The European Commission announced, recently, a 37 billion euro fund for all the Member States, and Romania can access about 3 billion euro. The Fund is strictly for the consequences of COVID-19 and, unusually for the European Commission, is that we first spend the money and then do the back-office bureaucracy, which means that that money can be accessed very quickly and given the deficit Romania has, the largest in the Union, we believe it is a fast and efficient source of financing. I think we need a few days to actually see how many companies are applying for this measure, how many employees will have to benefit and as the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor see these data, I think they will be able to reassess a bit the measure,“ Burnete said, according to Agerpres.

He added that some of the Government›s measures can have an immediate positive effect on companies, such as VAT refunds, medical leave payments and technical unemployment.

„The fiscal measures have a „lag“, as economists say, maybe a month, maybe two months. On the other hand, one of the measures I heard now has an immediate effect: the VAT refund. It will go immediately to the accounts of the companies. Similarly, if the medical leave is paid, it will reach the companies. Also, the technical unemployment,“ said the representative of Concordia.