European Interest

EU auditors to visit Czech PM, ANO party

Flickr/NATO/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ ANO party will be put under the microscope.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ ANO party will be put under the microscope. Auditors from the European Union are reportedly scheduled to visit Prague in the coming days, to assess the party’s conflict of interest.

As reported by local media, the auditors will examine records from various ministries, focussing particularly on subsidies awarded to Agrofert, from the European Social Fund and other funds.

According to the Prague Daily Monitor, Babis was forced to place his ownership of Agrofert in the hands of a trust, during the previous government’s term, but it has done little to stop his detractors in Brussels. The EU Commission is expected to publish its findings in the matter, no later than April.

In a separate report, Radio Praha noted that Babis is facing criminal charges in the Czech Republic of EU subsidy fraud over CZK 50m received by a hotel and conference centre near Prague that previously belonged to Agrofert. He denies any wrongdoing.

Explore more