Whistleblower protection in the EU
Unlawful activities and abuse of law may occur in any organisation, whether private or public, large or small. They can take many forms, corruption, fraud, businesses’ malpractice or negligence. If they are not addressed, they can result in serious harm to the public interest. People who work for an organisation or are in contact with it in their work-related activities are often the first to know about such occurrences and are, therefore, in a privileged position to inform those who can address the problem.
Persons who acquired such information in the context of their work-related activities and report about it (‘whistleblowers’) feed national and EU enforcement systems. This helps to prevent and address breaches of EU law. Providing whistleblowers with strong protection against retaliation is essential to encourage reporting and strengthen the effectiveness of EU law. Giving whistleblowers this protection is also key for safeguarding their freedom of expression, enshrined in Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
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 (the ‘Whistleblower Protection Directive’) sets minimum standards at EU level, aiming to guarantee a high level of balanced and effective protection for persons reporting on breaches of rules (e.g. on public procurement, financial services, anti-money laundering, food safety, transport safety, consumer protection, protection of the environment, or public health).
The Directive requires Member States to ensure, amongst others, that:
- whistleblowers have at their disposal effective channels to report breaches of EU rules confidentially, both internally (within an organisation) and externally (to a competent authority)
- whistleblowers’ reports are properly investigated and acted upon by the organisations and competent authorities
- whistleblowers are protected from retaliation
This Directive entered into force on 16 December 2019 and Member States had until 17 December 2021 to transpose it into their national laws.
The European Commission established an Expert Group to assist Member States in this process and to ensure an effective transposition and implementation of the Directive.
Transposition of the Directive in the EU Member States
On 3 July 2024, the Commission adopted a report assessing the transposition of the Whistleblower Protection Directive.
The report assesses the compliance with the Directive of the transposition measures adopted by the Member States. It assesses whether the Directive’s provisions have been transposed completely and correctly in the different Member States, and highlights the main shortcomings identified.
The report finds that all Member States have transposed the Directive’s main provisions, but the transposition needs to be improved on certain key areas, such as the material scope, the conditions for protection and the measures of protection against retaliation, in particular the exemptions from liability and the penalties. Moreover, the Commission regrets the overall very late transposition of the Directive.
As detailed in the report, the Commission has been pursuing an intensive action for the enforcement of the Directive. It will continue to monitor Member States’ compliance with the Directive and will take appropriate measures to ensure the correct transposition and effective implementation of this important EU legislation, including by launching infringement proceedings where necessary.
Funding
- Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme - Supporting an enabling environment for the protection of whistleblowers
- Justice (JUST) Programme – Judicial training
Documents