The European Commission decided on Wednesday 15 February to refer eight Member States - Germany, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic - to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to transpose into national law the Directive (2019/1937) on the protection of persons who report violations of EU law (see EUROPE 12212/11).
The Directive requires Member States to provide effective channels for whistleblowers working in the public and private sectors to report violations of EU rules in confidence by putting in place a robust system of protection against retaliation. This applies both internally (within an organisation) and externally (reporting to a competent public authority).
Member States had to take the necessary measures to comply with the provisions of the Directive by mid-December 2021. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)