Andrej Babiš built a business empire, then became prime minister. Told by Brussels that this raises a potential conflict of interest, he says he will not deal with it. The European Commission has suspended part of the EU funding flowing to companies in the Agrofert group, saying his trust fund does not sufficiently address his ties to the business.
“After a thorough assessment, the Commission considers that the Czech prime minister is in a potential situation of conflict of interest in relation to the management of cohesion policy and agricultural funds,” Commission spokesperson Louise Bogey said during Tuesday’s midday briefing.
“The trust fund set up by Mr Babiš does not sufficiently mitigate this situation,” she added. The Commission said Mr Babiš must not take any action that brings his own interests into conflict with those of the EU. Czech authorities, it added, must take steps to prevent such conflicts or address situations that could reasonably look like one.
Mr Babiš dismissed the assessment. “I don´t care, and I am not dealing with it,” he told the Czech News Agency. “I do not own Agrofert, I will never own it again and I receive no benefit from it.”
Suspension targets selected projects
Mr Babiš founded Agrofert before entering politics. The conglomerate operates hundreds of companies in agriculture, food production and chemicals and receives substantial support from EU programmes. He transferred its shares to the RSVP Trust in February after returning as prime minister.
The Commission has told Czech authorities not to declare any expenditure for operations carried out since 9 December 2025, the day Mr Babiš returned as prime minister, if they involve entities he controls or is linked to, whether inside or outside the trust. The freeze covers cohesion funds and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy, which the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund pays out automatically against fixed criteria, are excluded from the restriction.
Czech authorities pay the subsidies upfront and then report the expenditure to Brussels for reimbursement, meaning the immediate financial risk falls on the Czech state rather than Agrofert. Czechia’s State Agricultural Intervention Fund put the figure at €3.18m; the Commission did not confirm it.
In my case, apparently not even shooting myself would be enough. — Andrej Babiš, Czech Prime Minister
“I don’t know what more I could do,” Mr Babiš responded. “European commissioners only have to declare a conflict of interest for the matter to be considered resolved. In my case, apparently not even shooting myself would be enough.”
The measure remains temporary while the Commission seeks additional information from Czech authorities. Should Brussels ultimately refuse to reimburse subsidies already paid to Agrofert companies, Czechia would have to recover the money itself or cover the cost from its own budget.
