To ensure governments take whistleblower protection seriously, Transparency International and the Whistleblowing International Network are monitoring the transposition process across all 27 Member States closely, and today published a new report looking at progress one year and two months into the two-year timeframe:
Are EU Governments Taking Whistleblower Protection Seriously?
Progress Report on Transposition of the EU Directive.
Whistleblowing is one of the most effective ways of uncovering corruption and other wrongdoing. Robust legislation is vital to protect whistleblowers against retaliation and other injustices, and to ensure their reports are addressed.
In most European countries, blowing the whistle is a risky decision to make, primarily because there is no, or insufficient, legal protection for whistleblowers.
In 2019, the European Union adopted the “Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law” (Whistleblower Protection Directive).
The Directive contains many ground-breaking provisions. It prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers, safeguards their identities in most circumstances and offers them several reporting avenues.
The 27 EU member states have two years from its entry into force (until 17 December 2021) to comply with the Directive.
Minimal, delayed or even incorrect implementation of the Directive could further endanger and discourage whistleblowers. By 17 February 2021, two-thirds (18) of member states had not started or had made minimal progress towards implementing the Directive. And it is uncertain whether any EU country will complete transposition by the December deadline.
Read Full Report here. Key findings are discussed in a series of blogs by Marie Terracol, Whistleblower Protection Lead at Transparency International and Ida Nowers, Law and Policy Coordinator at Whistleblowing International Network):
- Are EU Governments taking whistleblowing protection seriously?
- Can transposing the Whistleblower Protection Directive be done on time? Maybe, but not at the cost of transparency and inclusiveness
The Whistleblowing International Network hosts the EU Whistleblowing Meter which tracks the transposition of the EU Directive on Whistleblowing across all 27 Member States.