Commissioner Hahn: European Commission will guard its funds more closely after Agrofert audit

The European Commission wants to introduce new practices with which to protect the EU budget from conflicts of interest, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn said on Wednesday, during a debate in the European Parliament on the results of the EU audit into Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s conflict of interest connected with the company Agrofert, which he founded before entering politics.

Mr. Hahn suggested that access to EU funds could be associated with the union’s conditions for member states to adhere to the rule of law, as well as other conditions that are being prepared. The aim, he said, is to ensure the safety of the money paid by EU tax payers.

The European Parliament initiated the debate in reaction to the results of the EU audit, which found Mr. Babiš to be in a conflict of interest. The Czech prime minister maintains that he is innocent and that he is adhering to Czech law.