Commission Introduces New Tool For Whistle-Blowers

On 16 March 2017, the European Commission introduced a new tool which helps whistle-blowers to report antitrust concerns to the Commission and thereby to stay anonymously.

Although it was already possible to submit anonymous hints to the Commission, cartels were mostly detected through the Commission's established leniency programme whereby companies can notify the Commission themselves about their own violations and participations in cartels. In return, this can lead to a reduction of potential fines.

But the new tool especially encourages individuals who know about the existence or the planning of a cartel or about other antitrust behaviour to notify the Commission. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager underlines this by saying that inside information "can contribute to the success of our investigations quickly and more effectively to the benefit of consumers and the EU's economy as a whole."