The European Parliament’s conference of the presidents gave its approval on Thursday 8 September to an own initiative report on the directive on whistleblowers.
A number of sources have indicated that the legal affairs (JURI) and the economic and monetary affairs (ECON) committees will work closely together on the own initiative report. The name of the rapporteur will be known after the meeting of the JURI committee coordinators. Jean-Marie Cavada (ALDE, France) is being tipped for this role. He it was who, to the great chagrin of the Greens (see EUROPE 11601), proposed adopting an own initiative report instead of a legislative initiative report.
The matter of the legal basis remains, for the moment, to be settled. The Articles proposed by the Parliament’s legal department and the political groups are many and various, with some suggesting Article 83 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) which states: “If the approximation of criminal laws and regulations of the member states proves essential to ensure the effective implementation of a Union policy in an area which has been subject to harmonisation measures, directives may establish minimum rules”. According to a number of sources, in order to cover all public and private sectors, several Articles will be required, including Articles 151 and 153 of the TFEU which relate to social policy, Article 114 on the European internal market and Article 325 on the protection of the financial interests of the Union (see EUROPE 11589).
The proposal for a directive on whistleblowers was made by the Greens Group following the adoption of the report on the trade secrets directive (see EUROPE 11532). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)