EU Directive 2019/1937 on whistleblower protection adopted #

On 23 October 2019, the European Parliament and the Council formally adopted Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law. The plenary vote passed with 591 votes in favour, 29 against, and 33 abstentions.

The Directive requires every organization with 50 or more employees to establish secure internal reporting channels, protect reporters from retaliation, and provide feedback within three months. Member states had until 17 December 2021 to transpose it into national law.

What the directive requires #

• Internal reporting channels (Art. 8) — secure, confidential channels accessible to all workers, including contractors and suppliers
• 7-day acknowledgment (Art. 9) — organizations must confirm receipt of a report within seven calendar days
• 3-month feedback deadline (Art. 9) — reporters must receive feedback on actions taken within three months
• Anti-retaliation protection (Art. 19–21) — dismissal, demotion, intimidation, and other forms of retaliation are prohibited
• Reversed burden of proof (Art. 21(5)) — once a reporter shows they made a report and suffered a detriment, the employer must prove the measure was unrelated
• External and public reporting (Art. 10, 15) — reporters retain protection when reporting to competent authorities or, as a last resort, making public disclosures

Plenary debate #

The European Parliament debated the directive during its plenary session in Strasbourg. Extracts from the debate are available on the European Parliament Multimedia Centre:

Watch the plenary debate on whistleblower protection

Official resources #

• Full text of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 — EUR-Lex
• Protection for whistleblowers — European Commission
• New EU-wide rules approved — European Parliament press release
• All whistleblower protection multimedia — European Parliament Multimedia Centre
• Legislative train schedule — European Parliament