Czechs DEMAND PM resigns over EU fraud claims in biggest protest since fall of COMMUNISM
CZECH protestors have turned out in their thousands demanding that Prime Minister Andrej Babis resigns following a corruption scandal surrounding EU funds.
Czech Republic: Thousands protest in Prague against Babiš
Mr Babis was accused of fraudulently using EU funds by police in April – an accusation he furiously denied. The proposal was based on a 2018 European Commission report that suggested his business empire allowed him to illegally profit from subsidies. It said all EU subsidies paid to his companies – to the tune of £15.5million – should be returned.
Mr Babis – a Europhile who recently called on Britain to hold a second Brexit referendum – referred to the report as “an attack on the Czech Republic”.
He stressed that no funds would be returned and that he would remain in his post.
He said in Parliament yesterday: "I would never do anything like that.
"I'm not a fool."
The case specifically refers to a 2 million euro EU subsidy for a farm and convention centre that he owned but hid at the time.
In response, 120,000 protestors stormed the streets of Prague to voice their discontent at Mr Babis.
Carried out in Wenceslas Square in the nation’s capital, the scenes mirror the protests in the 1989 Velvet Revolution which brought down communism in the country.
Also named the ‘Gentle Revolution’, it represented 13 days of consecutive protest which helped end 41 years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia.
The rally is nothing new, it is the fifth in Prague in the past six weeks.
Fearing she would influence the removal process, protestors also called for Justice Minister Marie Benesova – an ally of Mr Babis – to resign.
It may spell the beginning of the end for Mr Babis, who was only swept into power in October 2017.
However, despite the scandals and growing dissent, he remains the country’s most popular politician at this time.
Labelled the “Czech Donald Trump”, he has been part of the growing list of anti-immigrant voices in the EU Council.
Despite this, he has praised the EU on multiple occasions and sees it as a vehicle for stability and strength.
He recently called for Britain to hold a second referendum on Brexit.
Mr Babis said in May: “I still hope that the [British] people finally understand that the misinformation that they received [about Brexit] is not true and Britain will stay in the European Union.”
He continued by saying the UK remaining in the bloc would be “the best for all".