European Parliament comittee asks Czech PM to deal with his possible conflict of interest

Czech authorities should resolve the ongoing conflict of interest of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who still has an influence on Agrofert, the company he founded, and thus collects money from European Union funds, several MEPs on the European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee agreed on Thursday.

The committee discussed a report from a February European Parliament mission to the Czech Republic. In non-binding recommendations, the committee called on the prime minister to resign or stop collecting money from the EU budget through companies associated with the Agrofert holding if a conflict of interest ends up being proven. According to MEPs, the European Commission should stop payments to Agrofert and strictly apply zero tolerance.

Last year's European Commission audit report states that Babiš still has an influence on the company, which he invested in trust funds. The Czech Prime Minister refuses its conclusion. In response, Agrofert spokesman Karel Hanzelka called the committee's mission politicized