Development Ministry to send much anticipated reply to preliminary EC audit on Wednesday

Regional Development Minister Klára Dostálová has said that her department will send the much anticipated reply the European Commission’s preliminary audit on the suspected conflict of interests of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, on Wednesday. In an interview with Czech newspaper Deník N, Mrs. Dostálová said the reply contains contradictions to every sentence on every page of the audit.

According to the preliminary audit report, Mr. Babiš still has influence on his former company Agrofert, which is drawing money from European funds, and is therefore in a conflict of interest. As a result, the Czech Republic may be forced to return about CZK 450 million to the EU budget.

The reply is being sent to the Czech Republic’s Permanent Representation at the European Union in Brussels, which subsequently has to supply it to the European Commission by Monday, when the deadline runs out.