Source: just.ee
A new whistleblowing law has been adopted in Estonia. The new legislation – Act on the Protection of Whistleblower of Work-Related Violations of European Union Law (the “Whistleblower Protection Act”) is intended to transpose the EU Directive on Whistleblowing.
The Act was announced on 23 May 2024 and is due to enter into force on 1 September 2024. It was announced by the Head of State on 24 May 2024.
Estonia is the second to last of the 27 EU Member States to adopt legislation to transpose the Directive. The official deadline for all countries to fully implement the new minimum standards was 21 December 2021. Despite now adopting legislation, the delays will likely result in significant fines for Estonia, who has already been referred to the European Court of Justice, as was recently the case for Poland, who is now the only country to have not adopted a new law.
Steven-Hristo Evestus, member of Transparency International Estonia, said:
“The adoption of the new law has an extremely important weight in terms of an honest and transparent organizational culture. Unfortunately, the scope of the substantive application of the law is significantly limited and reduced to such work-related violations, which in turn are only related to violations of European Union law. On the basis of the Whistleblower Protection Act, all people who report a violation in a work-related context should be protected. In the case of a narrower transposition of the directive, the person is challenged to navigate more than 140 European Union legal acts. In such a legal maze, in the future, both whistleblowers and persons who process the information received will have to distinguish whether a specific violation falls within the scope of the law or not. This inhibits both the growth of civic courage and the general change of attitudes, because the victims of the violation or its witnesses may not be sure of receiving protection after they are informed about the possible violation, or they may be deprived of protection altogether. Therefore, work on improving the law must continue.”
Transparency International Estonia have worked on the topic of whistleblower protection for several years, including setting up an Advocacy and Legal Advice Center (ALAC) to support individuals who witness workplace wrongdoing by providing advice and guidance. The ALAC assists in navigating the complexities of reporting, offering general information on rights and obligations, guidelines for safe reporting, and instructions for filing case reports. The ALAC strives to change the negative perception of whistleblowing in Estonian society, advocating for greater transparency and accountability.