2 April 2020 – The cabinet approved a decision on taking responsibility on a draft law on the establishment of measures to support the citizens and the entrepreneurial activity in the state of emergency period and the amendment of some acts.

The draft sees measures to back the entrepreneurial activity, in order to attenuate the negative effects on the economy, triggered by the epidemiological situation (COVID-19) and establishes a mechanism of subsidization.

Under the decision, the subjects of the subsidy are the non-commercial enterprises and organizations residents of Moldova, which established technical unemployment and/or standing. ‘’For the subjects of the subsidy which fully or partially ceased working, according to the decisions by the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission  and/or the Instructions of Moldova’s Commission for Emergency Situation, the government provides a subsidy worth the sum paid of the income tax, of the mandatory social state insurances contributions owed by the employer, of the mandatory individual state social insurances and the mandatory health insurances premiums in form of percentage contribution owed by the employer and employee related to the allowance/salary provided to the wage earners in technical unemployment and/or standing,’’ the document reads.

Also, for the subjects of the subsidy which fully or partially ceased working, other than the aforementioned ones, the cabinet provides a subsidy worth 60  per cent of the sum paid of the income tax, of the mandatory social state insurances contributions owed by the employer, of the mandatory individual state social insurances and the mandatory health insurances premiums in form of percentage contribution owed by the employer and employee related to the allowance/salary provided to the wage earners in technical unemployment and/or standing.

These proposals were submitted by several business associations including on the platform of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister. The EC Secretariat is in a process of continuous collection of requests for business support from the state. All are synthesized and forwarded to the relevant institutions for examination.

The parliament on 17 March declared state of emergency in Moldova till 15 May. On this period, the instructions by the National Commission for Emergency Situations are obligatory and executory. The Commission ruled to take more restrictive measures which hit including the business environment and more employees.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund, and the International Finance Corporation’s Investment Climate Reform Project funded by the Government of Sweden’s International Development Agency.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund.