Whistleblowers are to be better protected in EU in future. According to a report, EU Commission intends to present a draft bill on Wednesday that will give whistleblowers greater legal certainty. Many whistleblowers have so far been “often dissuaded from voicing ir concerns for fear of retaliation,” quoted DieSüddeutsche newspaper from draft. They would, however, help to “uncover threats or damage to public interest.”
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The draft is intended to establish common minimum standards for protection of persons who make violations in ir company or organisation public. EU states should ensure that “internal channels and procedures for reporting and follow-up of reports” are set up in enterprises. According to report, term “whistleblower” should be defined as far as possible. In addition to employees of private sector and public service, unpaid interns, volunteers and self-employed persons are also to be included. In a vote in October, European Parliament called for an effective EU-wide protection of whistleblowers.
The Greens ‘ financial spokesman in European Parliament, Sven Giegold, sees in Commission’s proposal “a breakthrough for protection of whistleblowers in Europe”. However, some improvements were needed to ensure that whistleblowers were really protected in all circumstances in public interest, he told newspaper. Giegold positively assessed that whistleblowers should be protected regardless of wher y share information solely for common good. “It is gratifying that Commission is not aiming for an attitude test,” Giegold told newspaper.
So far, re are no uniform EU standards for protection of whistleblowers. In Luxembourg, whistleblowers in LuxLeaks scandal, Antoine Deltour and Raphaël Halet were sentenced to probation. The employees of management consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have passed on thousands of documents which revealed tax practices of multinational corporations in Luxembourg. The Supreme Court of Luxembourg, however, tipped verdict against Deltour in January.
