Supermarkets will not be closed on Saturdays and Sundays, announced Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Thursday.
Based on signals received from society, it is clear that it is not appropriate for stores to be closed on weekends, he stated.
"I want to close a subject that has sparked public debate, the one related to the schedule of stores on weekends. Based on signals received from society, it is clear that it is not appropriate for stores to be closed on weekends! Other people closed markets during the pandemic and set hours for stores, we are no longer in that stage," said the Prime Minister during the Cabinet meeting, cited by News.ro.
Last week, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced that he had considered the proposal to close supermarkets on weekends, to assess the impact of such a proposal, but added that a decision in this regard "is not easy."
"We discussed it at the Government's Technical Committee to see the impact first and foremost. It's not an easy decision. Now we need to be fair that there is no tax evasion in supermarkets, first of all. Secondly, we don't know if we meet citizens' needs if we close supermarkets.
It wasn't just about supermarkets, it was about all food stores. And so, Romanians were told to stock up until Saturday at noon. I can't tell Romanians when to go to the store to buy food, after all, it's your decision, mine, each of us, but we did consider to see the impact.
It's not an easy decision, but if we have a viable alternative system, then such a decision can be reached," Marcel Ciolacu declared at that time.
Subsequently, when asked about the closure of supermarkets on weekends, the Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu, stated that Romanians cannot be forced to go shopping at the hours indicated by the government.
The decision will be made after Romanians are surveyed "on certain focus groups of people", he said.