The Commission welcomes the entry into force of new rules for the whistleblower protection

The European Commission welcomes today the entry into force of the Directive setting out whistleblower protection in the EU. This Directive will guarantee a high level of protection for whistleblowers who report breaches of EU law by setting new EU-wide standards. Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency said: “Whistleblowers are brave people willing to bring illegal activities to light – often at great risk to their career and livelihood – in order to protect the public from wrongdoing. They deserve recognition and protection for their brave actions. I call on Member States to transpose the new rules without delay.” From this day on, Member States have two years to transpose the rules into their national legislation. The new directive defining EU-wide high standards of protection, covers many key areas of EU law, ranging from anti-money laundering, data protection, protection of the Union’s financial interests, food and product safety, to public health, environmental protection and nuclear safety. The Commission encourages Member States, when transposing the Directive, to extend its scope of application to other areas, so as to ensure a comprehensive and coherent framework at national level. More information on the whistleblower protection is available here.