At its sitting on 26 March 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers (hereinafter – the CM) approved regulations introducing a procedure for supplying the population with essential manufactured goods in the event of a threat to the state, and at the same time approved a list of those goods.
Essential manufactured goods are intended to provide for people in the event of evacuation in a situation where the state is under threat – in circumstances where the usual supply chains may not function, or in the event of disasters requiring rapid action. The goods are intended for residents displaced in the event of a threat to the state who will be accommodated in temporary housing facilities (educational institutions, cultural institutions, sports infrastructure, etc.), so that they are able to maintain minimum standards of hygiene.
“Having analysed the effectiveness of deferred deliveries, the conclusions drawn from various exercises, and the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's aggression in Ukraine, we concluded that a sustainable and reliable model is needed for providing essential goods in a crisis situation, one that provides for the actual purchase of goods and sets out a list of the goods to be supplied. Building up material reserves in the form of physical stocks is the solution adopted by several EU countries to ensure readiness for a crisis situation,” acknowledges Minister for Economics Viktors Valainis.
The approved procedure provides for supplying essential goods to no less than 6% of the population. The storage of essential goods will be organised in local authorities, distributed across storage sites in proportion to the number of residents registered in the respective local authority area, so as to ensure that assistance reaches the population as quickly as possible.
In line with the recommendations of state and non-governmental institutions, and taking into account UN recommendations and the experience of receiving Ukrainian refugees, the list of essential manufactured goods has been drawn up with a view to ensuring minimum standards of hygiene, dividing the population into age groups – up to the age of 2 and from the age of 2. The quantity of goods to be issued, meanwhile, is calculated for one month.
“Introducing the new model will also make a significant contribution to the local economy in the long term, because in supplying essential goods we plan to involve local businesses as much as possible – both by renting premises and using transport services, and by purchasing and replenishing the goods,” the Minister for Economics emphasises.
The procurement of essential goods will be carried out on behalf of the Ministry of Economics (hereinafter – the ME) by SIA “Publisko aktīvu pārvaldītājs Possessor”. The civil protection commissions of the local government cooperation territories, in turn, will handle the actual issuing of goods to the population in the event of a threat to the state.
At the same time, the government's decision provides that the ME will prepare and submit to the CM proposals for the necessary changes to the regulatory framework in order to ensure that the goods are used appropriately and efficiently, setting out cases in which essential goods may be used for other purposes (for example, for refugees and the like). It is also planned to provide that, at least 6 months before the goods' expiry date, Possessor will take the necessary steps to transfer them free of charge, primarily to social care institutions.
The approved Cabinet of Ministers regulations “Regulations on supplying the population with essential goods in the event of a threat to the state” and the related amendments to Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 547 of 26 July 2005 “Regulations on deferred deliveries” can be examined in more detail on the unified Legal Acts portal.