Brussels, 06/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - On average, five cases of irregularities within the European Commission services are denounced each year. This is not very much, which can be explained by the fact that, on the rare occasions that staff encounter serious irregularities in the normal line of duty, most of them report it to their superiors without explicit reference to the 2004 whistle-blowing rules, which make it an obligation for EU staff to whistle-blow. On Thursday 6 December, the Commission therefore decided to provide members of its staff with better and clearer guidance setting out in clear terms when and how to “blow the whistle”. Maros Sefcovic, Commission Vice-President, spoke of the fact that it was an obligation for officials to denounce serious irregularities. He said: “These guidelines give staff the confidence to know when to blow the whistle, and how, as well as reassurance that they will be protected and remain anonymous if they wish”. (OL/transl.jl)