Business in the New Economy conference, Businessmen warn: We have a long way to go through the crisis

The economic growth in the first quarter announced by the Government, the highest in the EU compared to the similar period of the previous year, is not a reason for optimism for Romanian businessmen. For them, it is the same situation with 2008, when Romania was the country with the highest economic growth before the crisis began. As then, the business community expects us to fall from very high, and their forecasts do not look good at all: this year’s decline will be steep, and the road through crisis will be long.

What measures the business environment expects from the Government, how does it see the way out of this crisis, what are the expectations of the population, according to surveys, but also what emergency plans do the government have, these things have been analysed in the “Business in the New Economy” debate by the guests present together with the moderators Daniel Apostol, Economic Journalist, Founder of Romania Durabila (Sustainable Romania), Director of External Relations FPPG, and Adrian Măniuțiu, Journalist and Entrepreneur EM360 Studio.

Research conducted within the Coalition for the Development of Romania, which brings together businesses that generate 60% of Romania’s GDP, shows worrying results and very large declines in the economy, both in the second and third quarters and the year, high above government or FMI estimates. Moreover, these projections have not yet taken into account a second wave of the pandemic, which is very likely, says Dragoș Roșca, President of Romanian Business Leaders.

Business in the new economy can be done with a new approach – through computerization, digitization, opening new export markets, rethinking more attractive products for export. In addition, one billion euros will soon be directed to companies operating in Romania, announced Liviu Rogojinaru, Secretary of State, Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment. He also mentioned how much the grants could reach.

The tax authorities are taking rapid steps towards digitization. Pilot tests are already being carried out with the first cash registers connected to ANAF servers, and the plan is that all companies with turnovers of over 50,000 euros to be connected by the end of this year. Changes are also being prepared for the Virtual Private Space, announced Tănase Stamule, Economic Adviser to Prime Minister Ludovic Orban.

The signal of controlling the situation that the Romanian state will give, will be very important for the evolution of the economy. “Look weak when you are strong and strong when you are weak”, was one of the messages sent by Cristian Popescu, Tobacco Express Administrator.

Green Deal, threat or opportunity? The state-owned company Romgaz, the largest domestic producer of natural gas, wants to take advantage of opportunities related to the transition to a climate-neutral economy and be a reliable partner in this process, says Mihaela Virginia Toader, Director of Strategy, International Relations and European Funds Department, Romgaz.

Businessmen want to have legislative predictability, to know what awaits them in time, not overnight. “In the subsequent modifications, we would like to be dialogue partners, not to deal with decisions taken overnight”, pointed out Gilda Lazăr, JTI Corporate Affairs Director.

Adrian Badea is the vice president of the Oil and Gas Employers’ Federation, a representative of an industry that has been strongly affected by the current context generated by the pandemic, but also by the price of a barrel of oil. He manages to see hope, both for the sector he represents, but also for the well-being of the population – investments and legislative predictability, as an engine for the recovery of the Romanian economy.

The speed of implementation of government support measures for the economy must be increased. In the absence of aid, for many of the SMEs each day may be the last, says Florin Jianu, President of CNIPMMR.

Almost 90% of Romania’s population sees a new role of the state in the economy by supporting large investments and a much better relationship with the private sector. Thus, any delay, any obstacle in terms of interaction with the private environment will be taxed even by the population, which is waiting for these measures of the government, said Remus Ștefureac, Strategic Project Coordinator Thinking Group.

Sebastian Burduja, Secretary of State within the Ministry of Public Finance, considers that in the economic recovery of Romania and in supporting the business in our country, the approach as well as the mindset are very important. A new Romanian economic model would be needed: “by ourselves”

Dumitru Nancu, General Manager of the FNGCIMM, presents the importance of the IMM INVEST Romania program, which allows companies affected by the current crisis to continue their activities and investments.

Constantin Rudnițchi, Director of the Coalition for Freedom of Trade and Communication, radiographs the current situation, pointing out the needs and requirements of Romanian business in a context difficult to manage, both in terms of the state and business.

What are the lessons we can learn from the crisis caused by the global pandemic? What is the right approach in trying to recover? Marius Ștefan, entrepreneur, brings to light the problems, but also the comfortable or uncomfortable solutions that both the state and the private environment can implement for a quick return to a normal situation.

We learn from Adrian Codîrlașu, the president of CFA Romania, how the country’s economy present it self, taking into account an extremely useful tool for this purpose – the latest edition of the Economic Confidence Indicator, developed by CFA Romania.

Why do we need a healthy Romanian economic model? Răzvan Predica is a consultant within the Strategic Thinking Group and he proposes us 10 key measures for relaunching the economy. The conclusion is simple, Romania needs to reinvent itself.

NOUA ECONOMIE is an approach initiated by Romania Durabila and EM360 that supports a permanent dialogue between the Executive and the business environment. We thank the media partners of the “Business in the New Economy” event: Agerpres, Profit.ro, Money.ro, Financial Intelligence, Europa FM, e-nergia.ro, The Diplomat, G4Media.ro, Economistul, Club Economic.