On 28 September 2026 a meeting of EU agriculture ministers took place in Brussels, at which the Czech Minister of Agriculture Martin Šebestyán (for SPD) said that the European Commission had not yet decided on excluding the company Agrofert from EU funding.[1][2] According to Šebestyán, the Commission's interruption of reimbursement of part of the subsidies is merely an informal provisional step of a procedural nature, not a decision to suspend or exclude payments.[1]
Background of the dispute
In September 2026 the European Commission interrupted for six months the deadline for reimbursing 3.18 million euros, roughly 77 million crowns, from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).[1][2] According to the Commission, the reason is insufficient handling of the possible conflict of interest of Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO).[1][2] In a letter to the Czech authorities the Commission said that it did not consider the measures taken to address Babiš's possible conflict of interest sufficient, and pointed out, among other things, that the potential beneficiaries of the newly created trust fund RSVP Trust are Babiš's descendants and that the prime minister has access to information about the fund's portfolio.[1] Babiš placed Agrofert in a trust fund in February 2026 and insists that he does not own it.[1]
Šebestyán's position
According to Šebestyán, the State Agricultural Intervention Fund (SZIF) cannot stop payments by itself at present, because the Commission has not issued a formal decision.[1] The Commission now has half a year, he said, to finalise its position.[1] Šebestyán further said that the interruption concerns only rural development support from the EAFRD, not the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), from which, among other things, direct payments to farmers are paid, and with regard to which, in his words, the Commission does not see the possibility of a potential conflict of interest materialising, or regards it as minimal, and therefore continues to reimburse payments to the Czech Republic.[1]
Reactions
Šebestyán's statement was answered by Petr Bendl, agriculture minister of the ODS shadow government, who said that the question is who will ultimately pay the bill if the European Commission does not recognise expenditure on subsidies for Agrofert.[1] Bendl said that the minister of agriculture should protect the money of Czech taxpayers and questioned whose interests Šebestyán defends.[1] Agrofert is convinced that it acted in accordance with the law.[1] Babiš has previously said that he does not own Agrofert and that he is not interested in the European Commission's stance on his possible conflict of interest.[1] According to the Czech opposition, the prime minister deceived both the president and citizens on the question of the conflict of interest.[1]
Related articles: Agrofert
Chronology
- — Minister Šebestyán said that the European Commission has not yet decided on excluding Agrofert from EU funding. ČTK / České noviny FORUM 24
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 28 September 2026
- ČT24 — 28 September 2026