Source: ti-austria.at
Anti-corruption NGO Transparency International has published a statement commenting on the progress of Austria’s transposition of the EU Directive on Whistleblowing.
The Directive must be fully transposed in all 27 EU Member States before the 17 December 2021 yet the process of drafting the new legislation has not been transparent nor inclusive, describing the governments approach as ‘extremely restrictive.’ Stakeholder or Public consultation has not taken place unlike many other European countries who sought the opinion on the new laws.
The statement made five clear demands of the new legal framework as fundamental to its functional implementation:
- Extending the material scope of protection to include breaches of national as well as EU law (following the approach recommended by the European Commission and seen in Sweden and Denmark’s new laws, and recently promised in Germany.)
- Facilitating Anonymous disclosures.
- Ensuring protection all types of whistleblowers, including civil servants.
- Strengthening protection for designated officers handling reports within competent authorities.
- Establish standards for internal whistleblowing systems.