BRATISLAVA – The European Commission on Friday opened infringement proceedings against Slovakia over its hastily adopted law abolishing the country’s Whistleblower Protection Office (WPO), a move currently suspended by the country’s Constitutional Court.
The Commission said the legislation, which would dismantle the independent watchdog and replace it with a new body under government authority, is incompatible with the EU Whistleblower Directive.
Brussels had already raised serious concerns about the law in December, warning that it undermines core safeguards for people reporting breaches of EU law.
“The Commission has voiced its concerns in detail and repeatedly to the Slovak authorities. The Slovak parliament adopted these amendments in spite of the concerns,” the EU executive wrote in Friday in a statement announcing the decision.
The Whistleblower Protection Office was created in 2019 in line with the EU directive and is also part of Slovakia’s recovery and resilience plan.
Slovakia’s parliament rushed through the abolition of the WPO after the office fined the interior ministry three times – totalling 114,000 – for failing to protect whistleblowers.
The law was due to enter into force on 1 January but is currently on hold after Slovakia’s Constitutional Court suspended it pending a review of its constitutionality.
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