Czechs May Lose EU Subsidies for Water Systems, Hospodarske Says

The Czech Republic may lose as much as 40 billion koruna ($1.9 billion) in European Union subsidies for water system upgrades unless the government improves oversight of the funds, Hospodarske Noviny reported, citing Jakub Kulisek, a deputy environment minister.

The European Commission may deny the country subsidies for the years 2014-2020 because officials haven’t been able to bring control of the water industry under a single body, the main Czech financial newspaper said.

Having the funds withheld would raise prices for water consumers, the Prague paper said. Funding is regulated by several ministries and should instead be brought under a single institution such as the Czech energy regulator, it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ladka Bauerova in Prague at lbauerova@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net