Home › Archive › In the Media › Blesk | The government isn't a good steward of public funds. Are we going to pay Agrofert out of our own pockets?Blesk | The government isn't a good steward of public funds. Are we going to pay Agrofert out of our own pockets?
The European Commission has given the Czech Republic one month to explain Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s conflict of interest. Agriculture Minister Martin Šebestyán claims that this does not concern agricultural subsidies. Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of EUROPEUM Institute and head of Brussels office, warns: if the European Commission does not reimburse Agrofert’s subsidies, we will all pay for it out of our own taxes.
31. May 2026
The letter explicitly states that this applies not only to DG Regio but also to other directorates-general, including the specifically named DG Agri. The audit could take years. And Agrofert can continue to receive subsidies throughout that entire period. The Czech side first pays out the subsidies from the state budget, and only then does the EC reimburse them retroactively. So if the European Commission ultimately decides that the conditions were not met, it simply won’t give us the money. And we will either have to recover the funds from Agrofert or lose them.
You can find the full interview here.
