21 Amendments of Laima Liucija ANDRIKIENĖ related to 2018/0106(COD)
Amendment 40 #
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 breaches of the law and in safeguarding the welfare of society. However, potential whistle blowers are often discouraged from reporting their concerns or suspicions for fear of retaliation. in case they expose irregularities, mismanagement, misuse of funds, maladministration or potential corruption related to the activity of public and private bodies within the Union; they are not truly protected and do not feel protected; this is why many of them use other means to reveal the wrongdoing or even refrain from acting;
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) At Union level, reports by whistleblowers and investigative journalists are one upstream component of enforcement of Union law: they feed national and Union enforcement systems with information leading to effective detection, investigation and prosecution of breaches of Union law.
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Whistleblower protection currently provided in the European Union is fragmented across Member States and uneven across policy areas; moreover, there is a lack of follow-up and proper settlement regarding whistle-blowing cases across Member States as well as within the European institutions. The consequences of breaches of Union law with cross-border dimension uncovered by whistleblowers illustrate how insufficient protection in one Member State or within the European bodies not only negatively impacts on the functioning of EU policies in that Member State but can also spill over into other Member States and the Union as a whole.
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) The protection of the financial interests of the Union, which relates to the fight against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity affecting the use of Union expenditures, the collection of Union revenues and funds or Union assets, is a core area in which enforcement of Union law needs to be strengthened. The strengthening of the protection of the financial interests of the Union also encompasses implementation of the Union budget related to expenditures made on the basis of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community. Lack of effective enforcement in the area of the financial interests of the Union, including fraud and corruption at national level, causes a decrease of the Union revenues and a misuse of EU funds, which can distort public investments and growth and undermine citizens’ trust in EU action. Whistleblower protection isInvestigative journalists also play a crucial role in revealing wrongdoing connected to all these areas; they represent a very exposed group of professionals, often paying with their jobs, freedom and even with their lives disclosure of massive irregularities and corruption schemes; therefore, special measures to protect investigative journalists should be included in a horizontal legislative proposal for the protection of whistle-blowers. Investigative journalism and whistleblower protection are necessary to facilitate the detection, prevention and deterrence of relevant fraud and illegal activities.
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) Protection should also extend to further categories of natural or legal persons, who, whilst not being 'workers' within the meaning of Article 45 TFEU, can play a key role in exposing breaches of the law and may find themselves in a position of economic or other type of vulnerability in the context of their work- related activities. For instance, in areas such as product safety, suppliers are much closer to the source of possible unfair and illicit manufacturing, import or distribution practices of unsafe products; in the implementation of Union funds, consultants providing their services are in a privileged position to draw attention to breaches they witness. Such categories of persons, including self- employed persons providing services, freelance, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers, are typically subject to retaliation in the form of early termination or cancellation of contract of services, licence or permit, loss of business, loss of income, coercion, intimidation or harassment, blacklisting/business boycotting or damage to their reputation. Shareholders and persons in managerial bodies, may also suffer retaliation, for instance in financial terms or in the form of intimidation or harassment, blacklisting or damage to their reputation. Protection should also be granted to investigative journalists who acquired and published information on corruption schemes, money laundering, fraud, misuse of public money, abuse of office and other irregularities; the same protection should apply to candidates for employment or for providing services to an organisation who acquired the information on breaches of law during the recruitment process or other pre-contractual negotiation stage, and may suffer retaliation for instance in the form of negative employment references or blacklisting/business boycotting.
Amendment 92 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) Effective prevention of breaches of Union law requires that protection is also granted to persons who provide information about potential breaches, which have not yet materialised, but are likely to be committed. For the same reasons, protection is warranted also for persons who do not provide positive evidence but raise reasonable concerns or suspicions. At the same time, protection should not apply to the reporting of information which is already in the public domain or of unsubstantiated rumours and hearsay.
Amendment 98 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) Whistleblowers are, in particular, important sources for investigative journalists. Providing effective protection to whistleblowers from retaliationas well as to investigative journalists from retaliation and any form of harassment increases the legal certainty of (potential) whistleblowers and thereby encourages and facilitates whistleblowing also to the media. In this respect, protection of whistleblowers as journalistic sources is crucial for safeguarding the ‘watchdog’ role of investigative journalism in democratic societies.
Amendment 99 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 34
Recital 34
(34) It is for the Member States to identify the authorities competent to receive and give appropriate follow up to the reports on breaches falling within the scope of this Directive. These may be regulatory or supervisory bodies in the areas concerned, law enforcement agencies, anti-corruption bodies and ombudsmen. The authorities designated as competent shall have the necessary capacities and powers to assess the accuracy of the allegations made in the report and to address the breaches reported, including by launching an investigation, prosecution or action for recovery of funds, or other appropriate remedial action, in accordance with their mandate. At the same time, an independent advisory and referral Unit within the European Ombudsman should be established with a view to coordinate with Member States and advise on specific measures for the protection of whistle-blowers and investigative journalists.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 42
Recital 42
(42) Provided the confidentiality of the identity of the reporting person is ensured, it is up to each individual private and public legal entity to define the kind of reporting channels to set up, such as in person, by post, by physical complaint box(es), by telephone hotline or through an online platform (intranet or internet). However, reporting channels should not be limited to those amongst the tools, such as in-person reporting and complaint box(es), which do not guarantee confidentiality of the identity of the reporting person; anonymous reporting should be taken into consideration and protection of initially anonymous whistle-blowers should be put in place, in cases where such protection is required.
Amendment 194 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
d a) investigative journalists.
Amendment 274 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Article 7 – paragraph 3
3. Competent authorities shall ensure that a report received by means other than dedicated reporting channels referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 is promptly forwarded without modification to the dedicated staff members of the competent authority by using dedicated communication channels. Anonymous reporting shall be taken into account.
Amendment 281 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point c
c) the confidentiality regime applicable to reports, including a detailed description of the circumstances under which the confidential data of a reporting person may be disclosed; the same confidentiality regime and protection measures shall be applicable to whistle blowers who initially reported anonymously, if they ask for such measures.
Amendment 324 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 4 – introductory part
Article 13 – paragraph 4 – introductory part
4. A person publicly disclosing information on breaches falling within the scope of this Directive, including investigative journalists, shall qualify for protection under this Directive where:
Amendment 339 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – title
Article 14 – title
14 Prohibition of retaliation against reporting persons and investigative journalists
Amendment 342 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – point g
g) coercion, intimidation, harassment or ostracism at the workplace, in public or private life;
Amendment 348 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
k a) abusive suing and disproportionate financial claims;
Amendment 355 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 3
Article 15 – paragraph 3
3. Reporting persons shall have access to effective assistance from competent authorities before any relevant authority involved in their protection against retaliation, including, where provided for under national law, certification of the fact that they qualify for protection under this Directive.
Amendment 360 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 6
Article 15 – paragraph 6
6. Reporting persons shall have access to remedial measures against retaliation as appropriate, including interim relief pending the resolution of legal proceedings, in accordance with the national framework.
Amendment 363 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 8
Article 15 – paragraph 8
8. In addition to providing legal aid to reporting persons in criminal and in cross- border civil proceedings in accordance with Directive (EU) 2016/1919 and Directive 2008/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council63 , and in accordance with national law, Member States mayshall provide for further measures of legal and financial assistance and support for reporting persons in the framework of legal proceedings. _________________ 63 Directive 2008/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters (OJ L 136, 24.5.2008, p. 3).
Amendment 371 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point b
b) take retaliatory measures against reporting persons or investigative journalists revealing wrondoing;
Amendment 372 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point c
c) bring vexatious proceedings against reporting persons or investigative journalists revealing wrongdoing;