Source: derstandard.at
The newspaper Der Standards has published an article entitled ‘Germany wants to protect hose who uncover corruption, Austria is still discussing it.’
A new draft Bill has been announced in Germany to transpose the EU Directive on Whistleblowing. The Directive must be fully transposed into the national legal systems of all 27 EU Member States. The deadline of 17 December 2021 has now passed. Most EU governments are severely delayed in implementing the new required laws, and the EU Commission have initiated infringement proceedings against most member States.
The article, published on 20 April 2021 states:
“Germany has now complied with this requirement in a draft bill and goes beyond the EU requirements. “Whistleblowers who uncover violations of national criminal law are also protected,” says Eckel. This includes classic corruption offenses such as bribery or abuse of office. According to Eckel, it would be “very important that the Austrian legislature takes this as an example and goes beyond the requirements of Union law”. However, this point in particular is likely to remain controversial in the negotiations between the Austrian government partners.”