Czech National Recovery Plan Approved

Reading Time: < 1 minute

The National Recovery Plan of the Czech Republic has been approved this week by EU finance ministers on one condition: that the country address conflict of interest issues involving some high-ranking politicians, in reference to Czech prime minister’s business empire. That means Czechia is set to receive over EUR 7 billion in funding from the EU’s Resilience and Recovery Fund.

According to the Czech Republic’s finance minister, Alena Schillerová, the funds will be used to further the country’s economic growth. The money will be spent on in six areas: infrastructure and green transition, digitization, education and the labor market, post-Covid regulatory and business support, research and innovation and health and resilience, with significant percentages going toward climate protection and economic digitization.

The conflict of interest involves Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš’s company, Agrofert, which earlier this year was subject to an audit by the EU and will not be allowed to access EU structural funds. Meanwhile, his country must submit a list of Czech politicians with business interests and come up with measures against conflicts of interest.

Meanwhile, recovery funding has been blocked for Poland and Hungary, to curb what Brussels see as their drift into authoritarian rule, although the European Commission says that the evaluation of those countries’ plans is still in progress.

Sources: Radio Prague International, The News 24

CET Editor

Recent Posts

Poland tops employment rankings – OECD report

The EU’s employment rate reached a record high of 70.9% in the fourth quarter of…

2 days ago

Greece plans to repay Eurozone’s bailout loans whole decade in advance

Greece has announced plans to repay its first bailout loans a decade ahead of schedule,…

2 days ago

CEE economies tougher than you may think – ING

Despite their export-driven economies and strong manufacturing bases, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries may…

2 days ago

Slovenia mulls French, US bids for nuclear project

Slovenia is at the centre of a strategic struggle between France and the US, as…

2 days ago

Single market is not single, and it’s costing us all

The EU’s internal market is still falling short of its founding promise. Despite decades of…

6 days ago

Foot-and-mouth sees culls, CEE border closures

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has prompted mass animal culls and tightened border controls…

1 week ago