The adoption of the EU's whistleblower protection directive will be decided by the next Riigikogu, elected after the March 5 election, Minister of Justice Lea Danilson-Järg (Isamaa) said on Thursday. She said Estonia may end up having to pay a fine for non-adoption.
Earlier this week the European Commission referred Estonia to the European Court of Justice for its failure to adopt the directive by the December 17, 2021 deadline.
The legislation ensures confidentiality for employees who report corruption of EU law at their workplace. Companies with more than 50 employees must create a reporting channel.
The government approved a draft and passed the first reading on January 26, 2022. It was supposed to enter into force the following summer, but parties added 300 amendments to the bill, stalling the process. The majority were presented by EKRE, with several also from SDE and Isamaa.
As the Riigikogu's term ends next week, the draft's adoption process will grind to a halt.
Lea Danilson-Järg said the draft's future will then be in the hands of the next Riigikogu and they can decide how to proceed.
The minister said Estonia's current draft does not differentiate between EU law or Estonian law and will apply to both.
"There is certainly a big difference here because the directive itself only deals with infringements of EU law. This draft was written in a slightly broader form. Unfortunately, this directive is quite detailed as to how the notification process should be. It is...
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