Diritto ed Economia dell'ImpresaISSN 2499-3158
G. Giappichelli Editore

15/06/2019 - Whistleblowing: E.U. Directive increases safeguards

argomento: News del mese - Diritto Internazionale e Comunitario

Articoli Correlati: whistleblowing

On April 16, 2019, by 591 votes in favor, 29 against and 33 abstentions the new rules set by the E.U. regarding whistleblowing for the protection of workers who report violations of E.U. law and introduces safeguards to avoid retaliation by employer organizations or companies have been approved by the European Parliament. The protections also extend to those who assist informants, such as facilitators, colleagues and relatives. E.U. countries have two years to adapt national legislation to the new provisions. The areas of interest are: public procurement, financial services, money laundering, product and transport security, nuclear safety, public health, consumer and data protection. The discipline was necessary in light of the results of a study carried out in 2017 on behalf of the European Commission, which showed that the lack of protection of whistleblowers resulted in almost ten billion euros per year in public procurement. After the final approval of the law text by E.U. ministers, Member States will have to adapt their national regulations within two years; currently, in fact, there are only ten countries (France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Sweden and the United Kingdom) that offer comprehensive protection to all sectors or categories of workers.