Brussels, 26/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - The directive on trade secrets is finally expected to be adopted on Friday 27 May during the Competitiveness Council. The adoption of this text will therefore conclude a legislative process that has punctuated by the heated debates preceding this adoption.
Tension crystallised at both European and national levels, particularly in France and Germany, with regard to the article on the derogation to the directive's scope, in other words, the part on whistle-blowers. The problem appeared a few weeks after the plenary vote when the Council postponed its approval due to a linguistic ambiguity involving the translation of the English term "wrongdoing" (see EUROPE 11551). The translation the parliament decided to use was "inappropriate behaviour" (see EUROPE 11552). After two weeks of debate and speculation, the legal-language services at the Council and Parliament finally reached an agreement and opted for the translation using the term "reprehensible act" (see EUROPE 11558).
One expert following the dossier informed EUROPE that "'reprehensible act' is part of the European Parliament proposals and was defined in case law. An amicable solution has therefore been found in order to avoid a second reading. The term is more restrictive than 'inappropriate behaviour', which left significant room for interpretation to the judge but it remains relatively broad to avoid weakening the protection of whistle-blowers in the text".
According to Charles Laroche, a public affairs adviser at International Fragrance Association (IFRA), the qualifying objective "inappropriate" refers directly to the environment in which the behaviour took place and makes the interpretation difficult for the judge, who hast to rule on the quality of the act at the source of a revelation of a trade secret. Therefore, the latest version would guarantee much greater legal certainty, he explained to EUROPE.
In compliance with the agreement concluded between the coordinators at the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee on Tuesday 24 May, all the rapporteurs were kept up to speed by the committee secretariat with regard to the amendment made on Wednesday evening 25 May. Constance Le Grip MEP (EPP, France), EP rapporteur, gave the go-ahead to the most recent translation, describing it as "acceptable". Certain members of the Greens Group explained that the problem was not so much to do with the translation agreed as it was to do with the English term used. The rapporteur from the S & D group, Sergio Gaetano Cofferati (Italy), said that the problem was based on the French and Italian translation of "wrongdoing" and that they needed to ensure that the intention of the legislator was respected. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)