Status: 02/15/2023 3:14 p.m
The EU Commission is suing Germany for a lack of protection for whistleblowers. A corresponding law with this purpose was only recently stopped, and seven other EU countries have also been charged.
The EU Commission is taking Germany to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for insufficient protection of whistleblowers. The Federal Republic is accused of not fully implementing rules to protect people who report violations of EU law, as the commission announced.
The ECJ can impose a fine on Germany in the event of a defeat. In addition to Germany, seven other EU countries are also being sued.
EU wants protection for internal whistleblowers
EU member states are actually required to provide whistleblowers with secure communication channels through which they can confidentially share information about breaches of EU law. “This is intended to establish reliable protection against reprisals,” the commission said.
The aim is to protect insiders, who usually have privileged access to information as employees. Scandals such as the Facebook data leak or the so-called Panama Papers have shown that covert machinations can often only be identified from within. Above all, it is important that whistleblowers do not have to contact a position in their own company first.
The EU therefore agreed on new rules in 2019 to protect whistleblowers. Germany had not adequately complied with these. The requirements cover, among other things, violations of EU law in the areas of money laundering, corporate taxation, data protection, food and product safety, environmental protection and nuclear safety.
Germany is having a hard time
In Germany, the Bundesrat recently stopped a draft law to provide better protection for whistleblowers. Countries with CDU/CSU government participation refused to support the project. They complained that the bureaucratic burden on companies was too great.
MEP Rasmus Andresen commented on the current referral to the European Court of Justice as the “latest act of a true tragedy”. According to the Green politician, Germany has had adequate whistleblower protection for years.