14 August 2020 – The Secretariat of the Economic Council has finalized the first set of solutions for the recovery of some sectors of the economy affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The solutions were elaborated within the COVID MATRIX and were discussed with Oleg Tofilat, the prime minister’s adviser and representatives of the State Chancellery.

According to experts, the pandemic mainly affected the automotive industries, HoReCa, trade and furniture manufacturing.

The research also shows sectors that have a substantial contribution to the country’s economic development. These include the automotive, textile, chemicals and chemical products, the fruit, vegetable and cereal production sectors.

Sectors that could navigate a new wave of COVID without being severely affected by financial parameters are IT, electrical equipment manufacturers, certain sectors of agriculture such as fruit, vegetables and cereals, the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats.

In order to adapt to the new economic conditions, the authorities need to take a series of urgent measures.

Among them the implementation of the Digitization Roadmap of the economy; improving and adopting the draft Code of Urbanism and Constructions, removing the constraints from the construction legislation; signing new international free trade agreements; implementation of quality requirements for the export of agri-food products; VAT standardization in agriculture and e-commerce facilities, etc.

All these measures will also have an implementation solution. The experts are working on the necessary legislative and normative amendments that will be presented for coordination and approval to the Government and Parliament.

The COVID matrix is developed within the COVID-19 pandemic impact study on economic sectors conducted by the Secretariat of the Economic Council jointly with the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund.

The document will also be subject to public debate during September.

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.