On December 16, 2019, the EU passed the Whistleblower Protection Directive (Directive), which implements minimum standards of protection for whistleblowers across the EU who report breaches of EU law. For a general overview of the Directive and what it covers, please refer to our June 3, 2021, client alert “Blowing the Whistle: Protections Under EU Law.”
When the EU passed the Directive, the clock started running on a two-year deadline (i.e., December 17, 2021) for member states to transpose the Directive into national law. With the deadline for implementation approaching, many member states have yet to implement the Directive into national legislation.
Companies operating across the EU are currently in the unsatisfactory and confusing position of trying to comply with the Directive without the clarity and specifics of national legislation and guidance. This confusion has been exacerbated in 2021 by the European Commission’s (EC’s) interpretation of certain requirements of the Directive, particularly with respect to the permissibility of group reporting structures for subsidiaries of large corporations. Despite this lag in national level implementation, companies should not delay in taking steps to ensure internal policies and procedures comply with the Directive.
We set out below the key aspects of the Directive that have been a cause for debate in recent months and some practical steps companies can consider, even if the member states in which they operate have not yet...
President Donald Trump made false claims about NATO, NASA, foreign policy, taxes, immigration and other subjects in a Fox Business interview that aired Wednesday morning. Here is a fact check of s...