JUSTICE AND CONSUMERS - Public consultation on whistleblower protection

Period of consultation

The consultation is closed.

Policy areas

Justice and Fundamental rights, Banking and financial services, Business and industry, Customs, Economy, finance and the Euro, Employment and Social Affairs, Food safety, Public health, Public procurement, Taxation, Culture and media.

Target groups

The Commission seeks to gather input from a broad range of interested stakeholders, including public authorities, judges, prosecutors, ombudspersons, EU institutions and agencies, international organisations, private companies, professional and business associations, trade unions and trade union associations, journalists, media representatives, civil society, academics and the general public.

Objectives

The consultation will enable to collect information, views and experiences on the benefits and drawbacks of whistleblower protection; on the elements that are important for effective whistleblower protection; on problems arising both at national and EU level from gaps and weaknesses of existing whistleblower protection and from the divergences of protection across the EU, as well as on the need for minimum standards of protection.

Consultation questions

Questionnaire

Replies to the consultation

Summary of the replies

Answers ZIP

Position papers from registered entities ZIP

Position papers from non-registered entities ZIP

Background

In the course of their work, individuals may come across information about acts or omissions which represent a threat or harm to the public interest (such as fraud, corruption, tax evasion, threats to public health and safety, to food safety and to the environment, mismanagement of public funds, misuse of personal data, unlawful use of private or inside information, money laundering, etc.). By reporting or disclosing such acts or omissions ("whistleblowing") they can bring them to the fore and help to prevent harm to the public interest. In the perspective of strengthening whistleblower protection, the Commission will assess the scope for horizontal or further sectorial action at EU level, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity. The present public consultation is intended to feed this assessment.

As part of the consultation process, and in parallel with this open public consultation, the Commission may target specialised stakeholders in order to get in-depth information and inputs.

For more information please consult the Inception Impact Assessment and the background document to the public consultation.

Disclaimer

Received contributions, together with the identity of the contributor, will be published on the Internet, unless the contributor objects to publication of the personal data on the grounds that such publication would harm his or her legitimate interests. In this case the contribution may be published in anonymous form. Otherwise the contribution will not be published nor will, in principle, its content be taken into account. For further information, please refer to the specific privacy statement .