EC: Czechia will not have to return any funds due to PM’s conflict of interest

The European Commission has said the Czech Republic will not have to return any EU funds as a result of the audit which concludes that Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has a conflict of interest since no funds were drawn for the Agrofert conglomerate which is at the centre of the dispute.

The final version of the EC’s audit concluded that the Czech prime minister has a conflict of interest since he continues to influence the multi-billion crown corporation Agrofert he established, even after he was forced to place it into trust funds to meet a strict new conflict of interest law. There were reports that the country might be asked to return millions of crowns in EU funds as a result.

Mr. Babiš has denied having a conflict of interest, insisting that he does not control or manage Agrofert holdings.