Czechia¶
The Czech cases show how a conflict of interest at the top of government can be managed through formal arrangements that satisfy domestic procedure and fail outside scrutiny. The checks come from the presidency and from Brussels, reading the same arrangement by different standards, while the domestic administration carries on as before. Influence of this kind travels without paperwork, so whether it has been resolved becomes a matter of interpretation rather than evidence.
The clerk’s briefs¶
From the clerks, for the Patrician’s eyes
Not yet. Czech taxpayers carry the cost of subsidies Brussels will not refund, and the president’s authority rests on a condition his own state treats as met and Brussels does not. Firms competing with the prime minister’s holding for public money have reason to doubt the contest is fair, and a later buyer of accommodation, at home or abroad, would find no law in the way. The far right sits in government without a condition of its own; what it does there, and whether the Commission’s pressure produces a real separation, will decide whether this file opens.
September 2026: The trust is not enough¶
The European Commission told Czech authorities that the trust holding Andrej Babis’s Agrofert shares “does not resolve his conflict of interest”, Radio Prague reported, because as prime minister he proposes the appointment and dismissal of ministers and “can influence ministers outside government meetings”; it asked that companies linked to him not receive subsidies he could influence. The clerks note that the arrangement offered to meet the president’s condition does not, in Brussels’ view, resolve the conflict.
May 2026: Brussels suspends payments¶
The European Commission decided to suspend reimbursement of some EU subsidies to Czechia over suspected conflicts of interest involving Prime Minister Andrej Babis. The agriculture minister said his ministry had kept paying subsidies to the Agrofert holding, and Agrofert said it had received them in line with the law. The clerks note that the government and the Commission now read the same payments differently.
December 2025: The prime minister appointed¶
On 9 December 2025 President Petr Pavel appointed Andrej Babis prime minister, after requiring him to state clearly and publicly how he would resolve his conflict of interest; Babis announced that he would give up his Agrofert holding. His partners in government are the SPD of Tomio Okamura and the Motorists of Petr Macinka. The clerks note that the condition set for taking office concerned a company, while the far right came into government with the coalition.