EU Whistleblowing Monitor – March 2022 Roundup

EU Whistleblowing Meter – March Roundup

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 March 2022.

As of 01 April, it has been 15 weeks since the 17 December 2021 deadline for all Member States to have fully transposed Directive 2019/1937.

18 countries are now listed as delayed - 1 Member State is still listed as not started (Hungary).

No country can be yet considered fully transposed - the EU Commission has now started infringement proceedings.

8 Member States have adopted Transposition Laws:

• Denmark: ‘Lov om beskyttelse af whistleblowere’ was adopted 24 June 2021 and entered into force 17 December 2021.
• Sweden: ‘Lagen om skydd för personer som rapporterar om missförhållanden’ was adopted 29 September 2021 and entered into force on 17 December 2021.
• Portugal: ‘Proposta de Lei n.º 91/XIV and others’ were adopted 26 November 2021, published 20 December 2021 and enters into force 6 months later.
• Lithuania: ‘Pranešėjų Apsaugos Įstatymas’ was adopted on 16 December 2021 and was due to enter into force on 15 February 2021.
• Malta: ‘ATT sabiex jemenda l-Att dwar il-Protezzjoni ta’ Informatur, Kap. 527’ passed the third reading on 14 December 2021.
• Cyprus: ‘O περι τησ προστασιασ προσωπων που αναφερουν παραβιασεισ του ενωσιακου και εθνικου δικαιου και αφορουν
   το δημοσιο συμφερον νομοσ’ was adopted on 20 January 2021.
• Latvia: ‘Trauksmes celšanas likums’ was adopted on 20 January 2022 and was due to enter into force on 16 February 2022.
• France: ’Proposition de Loi visant à améliorer la protection des lanceurs d’alert’ was adopted on 15 February 2022 and was promulgated on 22 March 2022,

Transposition Bills have been issued in 11 countries

• Croatia: ‘Zakon O Zaštiti Prijavitelja Nepravilnosti’
• Estonia: ‘Rikkumisest teavitaja kaitse seaduse eelnõu’
• Luxembourg: Projet de loi 7945
• Poland: ‘Projekt ustawy o ochronie osób zgłaszających naruszenia prawa’
• Romania: ‘Propunere legislativă privind protecţia avertizorilor în interes public’
• Slovakia: ‘Návrh zákona, ktorým sa mení a dopĺňa zákon č. 54/2019’
• Slovenia: Predlog Predpisa: Zakon O Zaščiti Prijaviteljev’
• Netherlands: ‘Wijziging van de Wet Huis voor klokkenluiders en enige andere wetten’
• Ireland: ‘Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022’ 
• Spain: 'Anteproyecto de Ley reguladora de la protección de las personas que informen sobre infracciones normativas y de lucha contra la corrupción' ***NEW***

There is also an important civil society led template Law registered in Parliament in Spain available here.

March Updates:

• Serious concerns raised about new whistleblowing Bill in Spain
• Ministers in Belgium are currently working on draft transposition legislation
• The government has restarted the transposition progress in Czechia
• Civil society urges renewed inclusive transposition process in Italy
• Whistleblowing law reform expected soon in Slovakia

Resources 

Read the minutes of the 6^th meeting of the EU Commission Expert Group on transposition. 

Xnet have published an analysis (here) on the new Spanish law Blueprint for Free Speech (here) have published analysis on the new draft law in Spain.

Transparency International Italia published an article on the delayed transposition of the EU Directive.

Epicentre.Works and Amnesty International released a statement following Julian Hessenthaler’s guilty verdict and what the means for whistleblower protection in Austria. 

Lawyers and members of civil society are hosting a conference on the EU Directive in Belgium on 3 May 2022: The European Whistleblowing Directive in Belgium: (R)evolution?

 All these and more can be found on the Monitor Resources and Roundup pages