EU whistleblower protection heads in the right direction

Today, the European Parliament Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) voted in favour of stronger protections in an EU-wide whistleblower directive that was proposed by the Commission in April. This will serve as the Parliament’s negotiating mandate in the coming discussions with the Council.

“It is disgraceful that whistleblowers, including Howard Wilkinson from Danske Bank, continue to face potential retaliation for exposing corrupt practices,” said Nicholas Aiossa, of Transparency International EU. “Today the European Parliament has rightly sought to strengthen protections for these brave whistleblowers across the EU.”

Transparency International EU sees a number of positive inclusions in the text that was passed today.

“The Parliament has made a number of important advancements to encourage whistleblowers to report and to ensure they do not face unjust retaliation. Now it will be up to the Council to continue in this positive direction,” continued Aiossa.

Some of the improved measures include allowing whistleblowers to report straight to competent law enforcement or regulatory bodies, measures to strengthen confidentiality obligations, and allowing anonymous reporting.

Transparency International has long called for whistleblower protection and believes this is a another step forward in efforts to ensure harmonised levels of protection for those reporting wrongdoing and corruption. We continue to urge the EU institutions to uphold the standards and strength of this legislation as they engage in upcoming negotiations with the Council.

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