The Whistleblowing Directive: Update On Its Implementation

In 2018, the European Commission explicitly stated: "Unlawful activities and abuse of law may occur in any organisation, whether private or public, big or small. They can take many forms, corruption, fraud, businesses' malpractice or negligence. And if they are not addressed, it 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. Whistleblowers, i.e. persons who report (within the organisation concerned or to an outside authority) or disclose (to the public) information on a wrongdoing obtained in a work-related context, help preventing damage and detecting threat or harm to the public interest that may otherwise remain hidden. However, at European and national level the protection of whistleblowers is uneven and fragmented. As a