This is the monthly roundup of updates provided by the
EU Whistleblowing Monitor team of country editors detailing national developments in the transposition of the EU Directive on Whistleblowing during
November 2020.
As of today, there are just
12 months and 10 days until the deadline for transposition of the EU Whistleblowing Monitor.
Transposition of the EU Whistleblowing Directive is underway in at least 15 Member States with 12 countries remaining listed as ‘
not started.’
Country Updates:
In
Germany, the Minister of Justice Christine Lambrecht has
announced support for an extensive draft law which expands the scope of the Directive to cover breaches of national law. The announcement follows infighting between ministries on the issue, with the Minister for Economic affairs being criticised by NGOs for proposing a 1:1 transposition. Legal scholars in Germany have published
analysis of such verbatim implementation, which they argue would create a hybrid system which could be found to breach the constitutional principle of equal treatment.
In
Czechia, the Legislative Council of the Government have suspended discussions of the Draft Law for amendments to be made to the text of the proposal, which, if finalised by the end of the year, may now be passed in the current election cycle. The NGO
Oživení has published further reflections on the proposed regime which is deemed to be undermined by proposing a single competent authority which would be given no extra funding for its new remit, read more
here.
All responses to public consultation on the draft proposal to transpose the Directive in
The Netherlands and
Sweden have now been published:
Eight interventions on the Dutch proposal were received and are
available online – including the responses of
Transparency International Netherlands and the
Labour foundation which outline serious concerns of the proposed minimal approach.
Over
100 responses were received during the Swedish Ministry of Labour’s public consultation on the draft law. Concerns have been raised about the complexity of the proposed regime which would add additional rights to preexisting whistleblowing rules and constitutional freedom of expression rights.
A Civil
network for Whistleblowing has been launched in
Romania to promote public interest whistleblowing. CivicAIP held an online
webinar on the current progress for transposition of the Directive into national law.
Transparency International
Greece, Vouliwatch and Reporters United have formed a civil society
coalition to advocate for strong whistleblowing protections. More than 20 NGOs have signed a
joint letter sent to the Prime Minister and other officials advocating for stronger protections of whistleblowers.
Resources and Events:
A new
toolkit on whistleblowing for trade unions has been published by
Eurocadres in several languages. The best practice guide, developed in collaboration with NGO
Protect, also outlines the role of trade unions in the transposition of the Directive. A webinar entitled ‘Workers with Whistles,’ discussing the complex but vital role trade unions play in supporting whistleblowers, took place on 3 December, see
here.
Transparency International Irelands initiative
Integrity at Work programme is holding an online workshop for prescribed competent authorities to discuss preparations for transposition of the Directive on the 7 December, see
here.