Source: transparency.bg
Two draft whistleblower protection Bills to transpose the EU Directive on whistleblowing have been rejected in Parliament. The first Bill was submitted by the Parliamentary Group ‘Democratic Bulgaria’ and the second Bill by the Government.
This seems to be primarily due to the wider political situation in the country, with the proposal being rejected in principle for policy reasons, rather than the details of the legal texts.
NGO Transparency International Bulgaria has prepared an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for the draft law to be resubmitted to the National Assembly without revision. However, there is also a chance the transposition process could be restarted, delaying the transposition even further.
Bulgaria is already delayed in the transposition process. The EU Directive on whistleblowing should have been fully transposed one year ago tomorrow, by the 17 December 2021. Infringement proceedings initiated by the EU Commission are underway against Bulgaria – as well as against numerous other EU countries.