In Prague, the same government that tried to quietly loosen conflict-of-interest rules for its own prime minister is now being pushed by internal dissent and EU scrutiny to rethink the deal before it blows up.
Karolína Blažková
The governing coalition in the Czech Republic has retreated from plans to substantially weaken conflict-of-interest rules that would have benefited the Agrofert conglomerate and prime minister Andrej Babiš.
The government has decided that the proposal requires several changes and must be reconsidered.
“The government took a neutral position on the proposal and listed roughly ten points in which it believed it would be appropriate to change or amend the law,” justice minister Jeroným Tejc of the populist ANO party said after the cabinet meeting last month.
The justice ministry provided Deník N with a position paper in which the government explained why it would not support the proposal drafted by coalition MPs Radek Vondráček, David Pražák, Marie Pošarová and Filip Turek without further amendments.
One of the main concerns is the possible impact of the amendment on the fulfilment of commitments under the European recovery funds, from which the Czech Republic can draw grants and loans worth more than 200 billion crowns (€8.25bn).
One of the conditions under the recovery plan is a reform of controls and audits, which also relates to conflicts of interest.
“At present, the European Commission is assessing the possible impact of the submitted parliamentary proposal on the implementation of the national recovery plan, and the Czech Republic is actively communicating with the Commission on this matter,” the document stated.
