Source: www.sp.nl
15 July 2018
DENNIS DE JONG (Member of the European Parliament) :
Even before the summer recess starts formally in a week, the proposals put forward by the European Commission for the protection of whistle-blowers are still being worked on. It is striking that whistle-blowers must be protected everywhere except in the European institutions themselves. The bill is not about that. It fits into a trend: the Commission, is quick to tell the Member States what they have to do, but themselves remain behind.
Formally, officials of the European institutions who report abuses as whistle-blowers are protected by the civil servant statute, but that does not say anything about how this works out in practice. Recently, the Argos program was about how Roelie Post fared, the Dutch whistle-blower who had to go into hiding. Moreover, nothing has been arranged for people who do not work at the EU, but have learned something about possible abuses at one of the institutions. Finally, the Commission also still refuses to show in the UN context how it is fighting corruption in its own circle and in that respect protects whistle-blowers, while it is obliged to do so.
I am currently writing the opinion on this subject for the Budgetary Control Committee. In previous reports, I suggested that the European Ombudsman should be given a role in the protection of whistle-blowers who report on abuses at the European institutions. She is prepared to do this, but nothing can be found in the Commission’s legislative proposal. So I’m going to try to get that in after all. The Commission often relies on formal obstacles in these cases, but if it believes that whistle-blowers need protection in all Member States, it must set a good example. In recent years we have learned that everything is going on at the European institutions: there was Dalligate, Selmayrgate, Barroso-Goldman Sachsgate, and so on. All things that we have only learned about thanks to whistle-blowers and investigative journalism. All the reasons therefore to make progress in that area.