11 Amendments of Răzvan POPA related to 2018/0106(COD)
Amendment 73 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) Persons who work for an organisation or are in contact with it in the context of their work-related activities are often the first to know about threats or harm to the public interest which arise in this context. By ‘blowing the whistle’ they play a key role in exposing and preventing actions harmful to the public interest and breaches of the law and in safeguarding the welfare of society. However, potential whistleblowers are often discouraged from reporting their concerns or suspicions for fear of retaliation.
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) In certain policy areas, breaches of Union law may cause seriousmajor harm to the public interest, in the sense of creating significant risks for the welfare of society. Where weaknesses of enforcement have been identified in those areas, and whistleblowers are in a privileged position to disclose breaches, it is necessary to enhance enforcement by ensuring effective protection of whistleblowers from retaliation and introducing effective reporting channels.
Amendment 92 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Accordingly, common minimum standards ensuring effective whistleblower protection should apply in those acts and policy areas where i) there is a need to strengthen enforcement; ii) under-reporting by whistleblowers is a key factor affecting enforcement, and iii) breaches of Union law cause seriousmajor harm to the public interest.
Amendment 99 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Evidence-gathering, detecting and addressing environmental crimes and unlawful conduct against the protection of the environment remain a challenge and need to be reinforced as acknowledged in the Commission Communication "EU actions to improve environmental compliance and governance" of 18 January 201840 . Whilst whistleblower protection rules41 exist at present only in one sectorial instrument on environmental protection, the introduction of such protection appears necessary to ensure effective enforcement of the Union environmental acquis, whose breaches can cause seriousmajor harm to the public interest with possible spill-over impacts across national borders. This is also relevant in cases where unsafe products can cause environmental harm. _________________ 40 COM (2018) 10 final. 41 Directive 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 12 June 2013, on safety of offshore oil and gas operations (OJ L 178, p. 66).
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) In the same vein, whistleblowers’ reports can be key to detecting and preventing, reducing or eliminating risks to public health and to consumer protection resulting from breaches of Union rules which might otherwise remain hidden. In particular, consumer protection is also strongly linked to cases where unsafe products can cause considerable harm to the safety and health of consumers. Whistleblower protection should therefore be introduced in relation to relevant Union rules adopted pursuant to Articles 114, 168 and 169 TFEU.
Amendment 104 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The protection of privacy and personal data is another area where whistleblowers are in a privileged position to disclose breaches of Union law which can seriouslycause major harm to the public interest. Similar considerations apply for breaches of the Directive on the security of network and information systems45, which introduces notification of incidents (including those that do not compromise personal data) and security requirements for entities providing essential services across many sectors (e.g. energy, health, transport, banking, etc.) and providers of key digital services (e.g. cloud computing services). Whistleblowers' reporting in this area is particularly valuable to prevent security incidents that would affect key economic and social activities and widely used digital services. It helps ensuring the continuity of services which are essential for the functioning of the internal market and the wellbeing of society. _________________ 45 Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2016 concerning measures for a high common level of security of network and information systems across the Union.
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 45
Recital 45
(45) The most appropriate persons or departments within a private legal entity to be designated as competent to receive and follow up on reports depend on the structure of the entity, but, in any case, their function should ensure absence of conflict of interest and independence. In smaller entities, this function could be a dual function held by aone company officer well placed to report directly to the organisational head, such as a chief compliance or human resources officer, a legal or privacy officer, a chief financial officer, a chief audit executive or a member of the board.
Amendment 250 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. This Directive shall apply to reporting persons and collaborators working in the private or public sector who acquired information on breaches in a work-related context including, at least, the following:
Amendment 268 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2
Article 2 – paragraph 2
2. This Directive shall also apply to reporting persons whose work-based relationship is yet to begin in cases where information concerning a breach has been acquired during the recruitment process or other pre-contractual negotiation, as well as to reporting persons whose working relationship has terminated.
Amendment 304 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 9 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 9 a (new)
(9a) ‘facilitator’ means a natural or legal person who contributes to reporting; who assists or aids the reporting person.
Amendment 314 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 12
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 12
(12) ‘retaliation’ means any threatened or actual act or omission prompted by the internal or external reporting or by disclosure, which occurs in a work-related context and causes or may cause unjustified detriment to the reporting person;