EU subsidies to Czechs may shrink due to present suspicions-press Prague, Jan 3 (CTK) - The EU may markedly reduce its funds´ support to the Czech Republic next time over the suspicions surrounding the Czech drawing of present subsidies, daily Lidove noviny (LN) writes today, citing experts.  Several "unflattering" news about the state of the Czech drawing of EU subsidies transpired in a row in the past months. First, in June 2011 EC senior representative Jack Engwegen criticised the Czech Republic for its lack of a long-term strategy and a quick rotation of officials in charge of EU money´s distribution, LN writes. The staff are replaced after every elections. In addition, the relevant programmes´ managers should not be linked to political parties, Engwegen said. In December, a Czech court started dealing with suspected corrupt practices of managers in charge of EU money distribution in north-west Bohemia. "It was a fraud, a clear fraud, I swear," one of the accused, Vaclav Polacek, told the court when describing how the managers demanded hundreds of thousands of crowns from applicants for EU subsidies as "a contribution for coffee purchase." The drawing of subsidies within the North-West regional operational programme has been halted and its top manager Petr Kusnierz faces a trial over suspected corruption. The subsidy distribution has also been halted in the Transport operational programme since last May over an EU audit results. The programme´s overall volume of subsidies is up to 140 billion crowns, LN recalls. On Prague´s own initiative, the subsidy distribution has been halted within the Environment programme after the late 2010 scandal around a suspected attempt to bribe State Environmental Fund (SFZP) head Libor Michalek, LN says. Most recently, the EC has threatened to suspend its subsidies to a Czech operational programme run by the Education Ministry over serious mistakes. As a result of a considerably rising number of problems with Czech drawing of EU subsidies, the EU may reduce the volume of its subsidies to Czechs in the next years, experts told LN. "I think the EU will seek serious negotiations on a reallocation or even a reduction of the subsidies," says Jan Vitula, who was previously responsible for subsidy drawing at the Czech Education Ministry. When deciding on new subsidies, the EC takes into account how the respective countries managed and used the subsidies in the preceding period, LN recalls. The Czech Republic´s reputation in this respect is far from optimal. In November, the Brussels weekly European Voice wrote that based on audit results, the EC named the Czech Republic, Italy and Spain as the worst managers of EU money, LN writes. The EU´s further subsidies to the Czech Republic are expected to shrink, in the education sector at least, the paper adds. Up to date, a halt or reduction of once approved subsidies has been only exceptional in the Czech Republic, LN writes, referring to its survey of Czech ministries and authorities that distribute the subsidies. "In the defence sector, only one project has been abolished, a planned thermal insulation of a military secondary school," Defence Ministry spokesman Jan Pejsek told the paper. Judging by their reactions, Czech authorities do not fear a possible restriction of EU subsidies, LN writes. "In any case we reckon with our drawing the whole [sum within the] Competitiveness and Innovation Operational programme," said Industry and Trade Ministry´s spokesman Pavel Vlcek. If so, the ministry would draw and distribute a total of 90 billion crowns by 2015 within the programme whose Czech management was also previously criticised, LN writes. ($1=19.718 crowns) rtj/t/kva 