Victory for whistleblower rights campaigners

Commission Whistleblower proposals

After a long campaign for the protection of whistleblowers in the EU, the Greens/EFA group has welcomed the publication of the European Commission’s proposals. The Greens/EFA group has been consistently pushing for a directive and published its own draft proposal in May 2016, which was updated earlier this month following a public consultation (1).

The Greens/EFA group has produced a briefing, setting out the main achievements – and shortfalls – of the Commission proposals. View it here.

Greens/EFA group transparency spokesperson Benedek Jávor comments:

"We are delighted that the campaign for the protection of whistleblowers has paid off. Alongside NGOs, trade unions and journalists, we have fought hard to push the European Commission into taking action. Whistleblowers have been the heroes behind many recent scandals, unearthing major breaches of public trust and driving legislative change. They deserve our support, not criminalisation.

"The Commission's proposals are a good starting point. We welcome the fact that both the public and private sectors will fall under the umbrella of whistleblower protection and the wide scope of the directive.”

Greens/EFA group transparency spokesperson Julia Reda comments:

"When people are moved to blow the whistle, it is often in response to a breach of public trust or actions that break from the spirit of the law, if not the letter. It's good to see the Commission recognise this in their proposals.

"There is still work to be done. It is disappointing not to see workers' rights included in the Commission's plans. This is too important an area to remain unprotected. If additional legislation is needed to make this possible then the Commission needs to start laying the ground work for that now."