In the context of the global health crisis, the Romanian State took several measures dealing with the economic, financial and social consequences of the spread of COVID-19, including a series of stimulus measures, mostly temporary, to protect the business environment.

Of particular interest was Decree No. 195/2020 of the President of Romania, which declared the state of emergency and created the framework for the Government to approve measures of support for the economic operators affected by the COVID-19 crisis. After expiry of the state of emergency (i.e., on 15 May 2020), the Government declared the state of alert which was successively extended until 15 October 2020.

In this context, the Government adopted a number of regulations in the commercial, banking, social security and taxation fields. We note, for instance, that a “technical unemployment” indemnity for the employees whose employment contracts were temporarily suspended against the background of the COVID-19 crisis will be paid from the State budget; that payment of instalments for bank loans, including financial leasing contracts, may be suspended upon request; that no interest and penalties will accrue or be charged for the late payment of certain tax obligations. The Government also enacted several measures applicable to the SMEs badly hit by the crisis.

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