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Cross-border workers at risk

With just over one week left until the foreseen publication of a legislative proposal from the European Commission on whistleblower protection, Eurocadres publishes a report making the case for a strong EU legislation.

Authors of the Eurocadres report David Lewis and Anna Myers in the whistleblower protection panel at Eurocadres' Congress 2017.
Authors of the Eurocadres report David Lewis and Anna Myers in the whistleblower protection panel at Eurocadres' Congress 2017.

–We have, together with the platform we initiated in 2016, been working hard for a whistleblower protection legislation on EU-level. Our work has already been successful in the sense that we will be seeing a legislative proposal from the Commission very shortly, says Martin Jefflén, President of Eurocadres

On April 17 the issue is on the agenda of the Commission weekly meeting and the initiative will be launched on that day or shortly thereafter.

Several of the organisations in the platform WhistleblowerProtection.EU have lately published reports on different aspects of the issue. Blueprint for Free Speech and Transparency International are two examples.

Our work has already been successful in the sense that we will be seeing a legislative proposal from the Commission very shortly

–We have been making the case towards the Commission for quite some time now. Today Eurocadres launches our last addition in this phase, where we gather some of the most important arguments we have been using, Martin Jefflén says.

The report, in part funded by a grant from Open Society Initiative for Europe within Open Society Foundationsis, is written by Anna Myers, director of Whistleblowing International Network (WIN) and David Lewis, Professor of Employment Law and Head of the Whistleblowing Research Unit at Middlesex University. Both were panellists at the event on whistleblower protection during the Congress of Eurocadres in October 2017.

–This is the last push where we really make sure that all good arguments are heard and that the content of the proposal is as good as it possibly can be. We are thankful to the authors who have put together this report with us. For us it also marks the beginning of the next phase, to make sure that the Council receives it well and supports a strong legislation, continues Martin Jefflén.

The platform members has the past few weeks shared information that has been received about the upcoming proposal.

Today Eurocadres launches our last addition in this phase, where we gather some of the most important arguments we have been using.

–We have not seen the text but have some information about the contents and are laying the puzzle. Hopefully it will be fulfilling several of the criteria we have set out. In any case we will work to improve it through the legislative process if needed, Martin Jefflén concludes.

The different reports recently published will continue to be used as a foundation for the upcoming work, to put forward good arguments for the Council to support a strong legislation.