Last summer, civil society rallied against the continued erosion of democratic space in Romania after proposals to protect whistleblowers were significantly weakened by the government of President Klaus Iohannis (centre). Today, even after the law has been adopted, the fight continues.
According to the 2019 EU Whistleblowers’ Directive, each EU member state must amend its legislation to meet international standards. But a group of more than 20 NGOs and labour unions in Romania have accused the government of violating the rights of whistleblowers by diminishing existing protections with the “selective transposition” of the directive.
Romania’s whistleblowing legislation dates to 2004 and, at the time, it was believed to be one of the most progressive on the continent, says Anna Myers, executive director of the Whistleblower International Network. “According to the 2004 whistleblowers’ legislation, Romania was very good in terms of choice of channels, and it was ahead of many other European actors”.
Then, in 2019, the European Whistleblowing Directive on the protection of persons who report breaches of EU law passed, mandating every EU member state to amend its legislation by 17 December 2021 to meet the new standards. The directive pushed for more internal and external reporting mechanisms, and mandated private companies with over 50 employees to implement adequate reporting channels, amongst other measures.
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