News

Financial inspectors are looking into the details of how the head of President Miloš Zeman’s office Chancellor Vratyslav Mynář received subsidy funding for his guesthouse located in the Moravian town of Osvětimany, Czech Radio reports. Mr Mynář has already had to pay back CZK 975,000 from the CZK 13 million in total that he received in subsidies for the project, but inspectors are looking into other parts of the project as well. According to the Ministry of Education, Mr Mynář broke subsidy funding conditions and the news site Seznam Zprávy reports that the police are also looking into the case.

Mr Mynář, who has been in charge of the Office of the President since March 2013, has refused to comment on the case.

Slavia Prague striker Milan Škoda has agreed to sign a 1.5 year contract with the Turkish side Gençlerbirligi if he passes a medical check, the Czech News Agency reported citing his agent Jiří Stejskal.

The 33-year-old Škoda, who moved to Slavia from fellow Prague rivals Bohemians 1905, is the most prolific scorer in the team’s new era history. However, he has been scarcely used in the squad this season and Slavia allowed him to negotiate with other teams regarding a new contract.

Mineral water producer Mattoni and the online store Košík.cz are beginning to test the concept of reusable plastic bottles on the Czech market, news site Aktuálně.cz reported on Monday. Any purchase of such a bottle would see the owner receive a refund of CZK 3 once they return the item, which would then be reused by Mattoni. For now, only a limited edition of 80 percent recyclable PET bottles has been issued for this purpose.

The General Director of Košík.cz, Tomáš Jeřábek, told the news site that the idea came from the customers themselves, who have urged the establishment of ecologically sound covers for products. He says the success rate of the project will show whether implementing such a measure is realistic.

Reusable plastic bottles have long been in existence in Germany and are set to be implemented on a large scale in Slovakia from 2022. Despite calls from some pressure groups, the Czech government currently has no plans to introduce the practice in Czechia.

A second European Commission audit has found Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) in conflict of interest, the news server Neovlivni.cz reports, citing an “extremely reliable” unidentified source.

The first audit, focused on EU structural funds, determined Babiš is in conflict of interest because he continues to influence the Agrofert conglomerate he founded, despite placing it into trust funds in 2017. The second was focused on the distribution of agricultural subsidies.

However, according to the Ministry of Agriculture spokesman Vojtěch Bílý, the ministry has not received the final audit report yet, but merely suporting documents for bilateral negotiations. The final version of the audit should be ready after the meeting, which will take place on January 28, he told Czech Radio.

Babiš has rejected the findings of the as-yet unpublished documents, neither of which have been officially translated into Czech.

Transparency International argues Babiš knows full well what Agrofert companies are doing and so can take decisions as head of state benefitting them. The anti-corruption watchdog also notes his wife sits on a trust fund board, and his own media report on Agrofert’s activities.