COVID-19: Luck for Some, Bad Luck for Others
Publication: Economica.net
The crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has forced all the states of the world to apply more or less drastic quarantine measures, all based on the prior declaration of the state of emergency/necessity.
Why was the declaration of the state of emergency necessary? Only for being able to restrict the citizens’ rights constitutionally? No, the state of emergency had to be declared to allow the government to joggle with the budgetary funds. The handiest examples are: public procurement without public tender, directly, or at the most, by selection of offers, possibility to amend the budget before the end of the first semester, to allow the relocation of funds from one area to another etc. Such a measure was necessary, maybe it should even have been implemented earlier or more firmly. If, availing of this situation, certain governmental authorities have breached the law and have abused public funds, these will probably be held liable when the crisis is over.
The tax and budgetary facilities adopted by the state by the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 29/2020 and Government Emergency Ordinance no. 30/2020 can transform some theoretically useful measures quite into their opposite.