Czech operational programme to return 2.5 billion to EU

The Czech operational programme Northwest will have to return 2.5 billion crowns of EU funds over problems with project management, the head of the programme said on Wednesday, quoting a letter from the European Commission. The commission, which is expected to officially inform the regional administrations of the request in the coming days, said the funds had to be returned over problems with the programme’s ineffective evaluation system and errors in the individual projects. The Northwest operational programme was halted last year and several of its managers are prosecuted on corruption charges.