A draft bill that was intended to implement the EU directive has been criticised by the Council of State for its lack of precision, with 13 formal objections raised in the council’s recently published opinion.
The EU directive, which has been in place for three years, aims to protect whistleblowers from negative consequences to their professional lives and requires member states to establish internal and external reporting channels, among other measures.
However, the draft bill in Luxembourg, which was intended to grant whistleblowers a recognised status with clear rights and responsibilities, has been found to contain several paragraphs that would create legal uncertainties and is not in line with the EU directive in several areas.
According to the Council, some points are vague or poorly written while other paragraphs are “superfluous.”
It also fails to adequately protect civil servants and does not clearly specify when sanctions will be applied or how long personal data can be stored.
Until now, whistleblower protection has varied among member states, making many people hesitant to report suspicious activities for fear of negative consequences.
