On Monday 9 January, the Budgetary Control Committee at the European Parliament said that the European Commission should put an “effective and comprehensive European whistle-blower protection programme” into place to help internal and external whistle-blowers disclose their information on possible irregularities “affecting the EU’s financial interests”.
The Parliamentary committee unanimously adopted (21 votes in favour) the own initiative report by Dennis de Jong (GUE/NGL, Netherlands) on “the role of whistle-blowers… relating to the financial interests of the Union”. In this report, he calls for an independent European whistleblowers’ body among staff at the European institutions.
This new body would have ramifications among member states that are helping internal and external whistleblowers “use the right channels to disclose their information on possible irregularities… affecting the EU’s financial interests”.
MEPs are also calling for the subject of whistleblowers to be tackled at a more general level in the effort to protect all workers. Mr de Jong pointed out that whistleblowers working outside the European institutions are particularly vulnerable insofar as they depend on national legislation.
Mr de Jong’s report will be put to a vote during Parliament's plenary session in February.
Parliament has been behind the initiative on the question of whistleblowers, particularly since last year’s adoption of the highly controversial “business secrecy” directive (see EUROPE 11532).
Parliament recently gave the go-ahead for an own initiative report on the subject to be piloted by two French MEPs, Virginie Rozière (S&D) and Jean-Marie Cavada (ALDE) (see EUROPE 11663). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)