EU 공익신고자보호지침에 대한 연구

Abstract

In April 2018, the EU Commission launched a proposal for a directive aimed at providing uniform protection for whistleblowers and a provisional agreement was reached between member states and the European Parliament in March 2019. It was adopted as Directive 2019/1937 in December 2019. Before the process kicked off, the Commission stated that just 10 EU member states - France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Sweden and the UK (then a member state) had some form of “comprehensive law” protecting whistleblowers.
 The Directive had to be transposed into national law by 17 December 2021, a deadline that most EU member states failed to meet. So far only Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Cyprus, Lithuania, Malta, Latvia, Croatia, Ireland and France have transposed it into national law.
 In addition to the important aspects of the Directive are as follows:
 ￭Organisations with more than 50 employees are obliged to establish suitable internal reporting channels
 ￭Whistleblowers should be able to submit reports in writing via an online system, by post or orally through the use of a telephone hotline or answering machine system. Companies have to ensure that the identity of the whistleblower is kept confidential regardless of the channel used.
 ￭All personal data must be handled in accordance with the GDPR
 ￭Organisations must designate a suitable person to receive and follow up on reports internally
 ￭Receipt of the report must be confirmed to the whistleblower within seven days while he or she must be informed of any action taken within three months, as well as the status of the internal investigation and its outcome
 ￭Companies are required to provide information on the internal reporting process as well as on the reporting channel(s) to the respective authority.
 ￭Sanctions are included whereby companies obstructing the reporting procedure will face penalties. The same applies to a failure to keep the whistleblower’s identity confidential or retaliatory action by the employer
 The EU Whistleblowing Directive aims to provide common minimum standards of protection for whistleblowers across the EU. In addition, taking Through the introduction and transition of EU Whistleblowing Directive in Member States allows a company to create a positive image of transparency and trust, an essential element of a healthy corporate culture.