Czech state aid to Agrofert: fish stinks from the head

"The need for a European Commission probe into Czech state aid for large agricultural businesses proves again that decisions of a government led by a beneficiary of one of these businesses are neither fair nor legal", said Markus Ferber MEP, the EPP Group’s Spokesman on Economic Affairs.

“We have seen it in connection with the allocation of EU subsidies in the Czech Republic and we are seeing it again in the case of state aid. Czech agricultural conglomerates benefit from public money while Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) can only stand by idly”, added Ferber.

The European Commission has launched an in-depth investigation into Czech state aid in agricultural companies which had been qualified by the Czech authorities as SMEs, while they were large enterprises. Agrofert, the company Prime Minister Babiš is a beneficiary of, has received this aid in the past.

“The new probe by the Commission might solve one case, but the fish stinks from the head. The Czech system of allocating public subsidies is headed by a Prime Minister directly benefiting from them. For as long as this goes on, we will make sure in the EPP Group that all cases breaching EU rules on help for small-scale companies will not go unnoticed”, Ferber concluded.