The crisis situation can be a moment for rethinking the model for developing the national economy. Some of the sectors could obtain an additional dose of competitiveness, while the necessity of others will be in question. To ensure the recovery of the economy, internal consumption should be secured with more goods and national services. The online goods distribution channels and cashless payments should be stimulated, while the underground economy should be reduced, suggested experts of the Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup”, who presented a set of measures in a videoconference that involved representatives of the state, trade unions and employers, IPN reports.

Economist Dumitru Pîntea, of “Expert-Grup”, said the International Monetary Fund considers the global recession cannot be avoided and the global GDP can decline by over 5%. In case of a global recession, Moldova’s economy will be affected not only by internal factors, but also by the situation in such states as Romania, Germany, Italy, Turkey, or Russia. Remittances could decrease with the return of the expats from the EU, Russia, and Israel. The economy would be affected in at least two stages – during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the crisis. The second would include the reduction of economic activity in the chain of supply of firms that stopped work in the first period.

According to the experts, if the business entities are supported on time, more jobs could be kept and the domestic households would need to be supported less afterward. Consequently, the actions taken at the first stage should be sufficiently powerful to minimize the escalation at the next stages. To avoid the discretionary and chaotic use of the already limited resources, the taken measures should be attentively tailored to the real needs of the population and firms.

“Expert-Grup” programs director Sergiu Gaibu said the measures taken during the state of emergency should include the provision of salary compensations and allowances for those out of work. As regards businesses, the fiscal payments should be put off and the loans for discrepancy in amounts should be guaranteed. At the post-crisis stage, measures will be needed to stimulate the small businesses by implementing new programs and by continuing the existing programs, such as PARE 1+1 or those that support the women and young people. The monetary policy should be relaxed and the rules form small entrepreneurs should be simplified.

The videoconference was staged with financial support from the Soros-Foundation Moldova