New EU Directive Regulates Protection of Whistleblowers

On 7 October 2019, the European Union adopted a Directive on the protection of persons reporting on breaches of Union law (the “Whistleblowing Directive” or the “Directive”).

The Directive covers both the public and the private sector by setting minimum standards and ensuring a uniform level of protection for whistleblowers reporting breaches of EU law in defined areas. 

Currently, less than half of the EU Member States, including United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, and others, have comprehensive whistleblower protection legislation. In the remaining countries, there is legislation in only a limited number of sectors (mostly in the areas of financial services), which include measures to protect whistleblowers.

A 2017 study carried out for the Commission estimated the loss of potential benefits due to a lack of whistleblower protection, in public procurement alone, to be in the range of  EUR 5.8 to EUR 9.6 billion each year for the EU as a whole.

Read the article here.