Source: avertizori.ro
A new whistleblowing law has been adopted in Romania to transpose the EU Directive on the protection of persons reporting breaches of Union law (2019/1937).
The new law makes Romania the tenth country to adopt new legislation of the 27 EU member states who must all implement the Directive – many of which are way past the 17 December 2021 deadline, resulting in infringement proceedings against them from the EU Commission.
Serious concerns have been repeatedly raised by anti-corruption experts that, the new law is a step in the wrong direction and contains some significant flaws – yet it was successfully passed in Parliament.
Radu Nicolae – the president of the Association for Cooperation and Sustainable Development – was quoted as describing the progress of the Bill despite much needed amendments was “inconceivable.”
Various media articles have reported that the new law does not comply with the minimum standards of the Directive, diminishes the pre-existing protection under the 2004 law and even violates Romania’s Constitution.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has also issued a statement that it is was also concerned the new law represents a deterioration of the pre-existing whistleblowing framework in Romania, and could have a chilling effect, discouraging potential whistleblowers from reporting.