Whistleblowers play a key role in uncovering serious irregularities
EU Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly pushes for more protection
for EU whistleblower. The EU Ombudsman has opened an investigation into
nine EU institutions, which have failed to put in place protective measures
for staff members that report corruption or malpractice.
The outgoing EU commission wants to
ensure that the EU institutions have in place the necessary rules to protect
whistleblowers and to deal with complaints they submit about how they
have been treated.
The Ombudsman's office has drafted their own internal rules for the protection
of whistleblowers. These include rules stating that someone who reports
suspicion of corruption should be able to be transferred to another EU
body or institution, and that managers should ensure that whistleblowing
is favorably recognised when assessing EU officials for promotion.
Classic example of how not to implement Whistleblower procedures
How many EU officials have relied on the established whistleblower protection
measures is unknown. There is no documentation, follow-up or enforcement
of strict reporting procedures. There is no institutional uniformity in
whistleblower procedures in the EU either. Each institution has implemented
its own while other institutions have enforced additional whistleblower
measures.
The procedures to protect EU staff that report on malpractice is still
fully developed. In January, a new staff regulation took effect that obliged
EU institutions to adopt internal rules on whistleblowing. But the Ombudsman's
office stressed that not one institution has put them in place yet.
So far, the European Commission is the only institution that has adopted
the following whistleblower guideline;
An official who receives orders which he considers to be irregular or
likely to give rise to serious difficulties shall inform his immediate
superior. In the case of presumed illegal activity, fraud or corruption,
the official must "without any delay" notify his superior, Director-General
or the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).
A failing Whistleblower framework
A report by Transparency International's EU affairs office (TI-EU), launched
in April, flagged the lack of protection for whistleblowers. Even in the
case of the Commission, which has guidelines, the framework fails because
of poor practice, lack of resources and staff to enforce, or lack of clarity
over the rules itself.
People are concerned about corruption in the EU institutions, as 70% of
European citizens believed corruption exists within EU institutions. The
figures are even higher when asked about corruption in national institutions
(80%) or regional organizations (77%).
31 October 2014 is the target date for EU institutions to put in place
protective measures for whistleblowers.
Source: http://www.euractiv.com/sections/public-affairs/ombudsman-pushes-more-protection-eu-whistleblowers-303761?qt-eaqt_mostpopular=1_truncated
On the 2nd conference day:
| 10:40-11:00 |
Whistleblower Policies Must be Based on Local Culture
Mariano A. Davies, President and CEO, The British Chamber of Commerce |
| 14:40-14:55 |
Assessing Transparency Issues Related to GRC
Knut Gotfredsen, Chairman, Transparency International, Denmark |
