DGAP-Media / 01.03.2022 / 08:00

France passes whistleblower law: urgent need for German companies to act, says EQS Group

Munich, 1 March 2022: France has set the course for anchoring whistleblower protection in national law: On 16 February, the French parliament passed a law implementing the EU Whistleblowing Directive effective 1 June 2022. This means that one of Germany's most important European trading partners now offers whistleblowers comprehensive protection when they report wrongdoing. EQS Group, the European market leader for whistleblower systems, believes that this also places an obligation on German companies to meet the requirements of EU Directive 2019/1937 - even if this is not yet required by German national law. However, the legislation is not likely to be long in coming, as the EU Commission is already pressing for rapid implementation with infringement proceedings.

France is the eighth EU state to implement the EU Whistleblower Directive - albeit with a delay. The deadline was set for December 2021: "The French whistleblower law is exemplary because it goes beyond the requirements of the EU Directive. Whistleblowers now also have legal certainty when they report violations of national law. Not only French companies should be guided by these high standards of ethical conduct, but also all companies outside France that have business relations with them, due to the closely interlinked economy in the European Union," says Achim Weick, founder and CEO of...