Former defense minister takes post of deputy finance minister

Former defense minister Martin Barták has been appointed deputy finance minister. He will replace Jan Málek, a member of the Christian Democrats party, which did not get any seats in the lower house in May’s general elections. Mr Málek was let go by Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek last week; Mr Barták is due to start on Monday. Among other responsibilities, he will be in charge of auditing of EU funds. He was originally meant to be appointed to the office of deputy interior minister, but did not receive the post due to austerity measures in the interior ministry.