EU passes new law to protect whistleblowers

The Parliament of the European Union adopted a new law on Tuesday aimed at shielding whistleblowers from retaliation and encouraging people to report wrongdoing.

The law, which was approved with 591 votes in favor, 29 against, and 33 abstentions, and that has already received the backing of EU ministers, marks the first time that whistleblowers have been given EU-wide protection and also creates "safe channels" that allow people to report breaches of EU law, the European Parliament News reported.

Under the new law, people will be able to report breaches of EU laws both within an organization and to public authorities with a "high level of protection". The protection applies to whistleblowers reporting alleged wrongdoing in a wide range of areas, including in public procurement, financial services, money laundering, product and transport safety, nuclear safety, public health, and consumer and data protection.

It obliges legal entities in the private and public sectors within EU states to establish internal channels and procedures that support whistleblowers, protect their identity, and prevent access to the information by non-authorized people.

Whistleblowers will be able to report problems via written reports in electronic or paper format, oral reports via the telephone, and physical meetings with the person or department designated to receive such reports.

"Recent scandals, such as Lux Leaks, Panama Papers, and Football Leaks, have helped to shine a light on the great precariousness that whistleblowers suffer today," said Virginie Roziere, the rapporteur. "On the eve of European elections, Parliament has come together to send a strong signal that it has heard the concerns of its citizens, and pushed for robust rules guaranteeing their safety and that of those persons who choose to speak out."

The proposal for the new directive said: "By 'blowing the whistle' they play a key role in exposing and preventing breaches of the law and in safeguarding the welfare of society."

Reports by whistleblowers will be considered "one upstream component of enforcement of union law", which feed national and union enforcement systems with information leading to effective detection, investigation and prosecution of breaches of EU law.

But because the protection currently provided in the EU is "fragmented across member states and uneven across policy areas", whistleblowers have been discouraged in the past the EU directive added.

EU member states will have two years to comply with the rules after they are officially approved by EU ministers.

Currently, only 10 EU countries, namely France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, provide comprehensive legal protection for whistleblowers. In other EU countries, protection is partial.

Transparency International has said the "pathbreaking legislation" will also give employers "greater legal certainty around their rights and obligations", the BBC reported.