The protection of whistleblowers is uneven and fragmented at the national and European levels.

As a result, whistleblowers are often afraid to come forward for fear of retaliation. In light of this, on 23 April 2018, the European Commission presented a package of initiatives including a proposal for a directive protecting whistleblowers reporting breaches of Union law and a communication, establishing a comprehensive legal framework for whistleblower protection in order to protect the public interest at EU level, setting up reporting channels that are easy to use, stressing confidentiality and banning retaliation against whistleblowers, as well as establishing targeted protection measures.

On 23 October 2019, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of people who report breaches of Union law, which came into force on 16 December 2019. e members of the EU had until 17 December 2021 to transpose the whistleblower directive into their national laws.

The whistleblower protection in the European Union is patchwork, which may deter individuals from raising concerns (particularly in global roles where it is unclear what law/jurisdiction applies). Increasing whistleblower protection would be an economic win. There are estimated losses of between €5.8 and €9.6 billion in EU public procurement due to a lack of whistleblower protection. That’s in a “normal” year, absent a global pandemic and dramatic increases in public spending.

Reports are limited to breaches of certain EU laws, including those relating to financial services, food and product standards, public health, and public procurement as well as consumer protection. There are some Member States (for example, Denmark) who are going further and extending this to serious wrongdoing and violations of national law, but other Member States (for example, Germany) are being criticised for their plans to only apply the minimum approach.

It encompasses more than just employees and workers. The scope of the covers self-employed professionals, employees, unpaid volunteers, non-executive directors, shareholders, suppliers, and contractors.

Establishing communication channels (internally and/or externally) to receive written and verbal reports (e.g., telephone / voice message system) would be beneficial. Currently, this requirement only applies to organisations with 50 or more employees in the private sector. However, member states may extend this requirement to organizations with fewer than 50 employees.
An impartial person/department should be professionally trained and responsible for handling all reports that are presented to them.
Reports should be acknowledged within 7 days, and feedback and follow-up should be provided within 3 months (this may be extended to 6 months, for instance, in complex cases).
Whistleblowers should be protected from retaliation (for example, removing duties, negative performance reviews, blacklisting, psychiatric/medical referrals).