WhistleblowerProtection.EU hands over petition to Commission
On 14 November (2017) WhistleblowerProtection.EU, the platform which Eurocadres initiated in October 2016, met with Tiina Astola – Director General of DG JUST. The signatures of the petition and a list of the organisations participating in the platform were handed over.
Over 81.000 signatures and a list of the over 80 organisations were handed over, organisations representing tens of millions of Europeans.
The group highlighted that the past few weeks there has been several good news in the work for EU-wide whistleblower protection and it is time for the Commission now to respond:
- The Parliament adopted, with a large majority, a strong report calling on the Commission to put forward legislation.
- The results from the public consultation on the issue have also recently been published. Of the 5.707 respondents 96% of individuals and 84% of organisations supported establishment of legally binding minimum standards on whistleblower protection in the EU law.
During the meeting representatives from Eurocadres, Transparency International, EPSU (European Public Service Union), EFJ (European Federation of Journalists) and WeMove.EU presented the case for a strong EU whistleblower protection.
A message that was underlined from the platform is that there is no need for more recommendations. What we need is EU-legislation. The patchwork of different situations in member states and sectors put workers at risk, especially mobile workers.
This situation also risks causing harm to EU companies through unfair competition. Some member states have legislation in place, and there are signs of progress in more of them. A level playing field through a clear minimum standard should be the aim of the Commission.