17 Amendments of Daniel BUDA related to 2016/2224(INI)
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU set itself the objective of upholding democracy and the rule of law and thus guarantees compliance with and the application of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, in particular its citizens' freedom of expression;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the European Union is helping to consolidate international cooperation in the fight against corruption, in full compliance with the principles of international law, human rights and the rule of law, as well as the sovereignty of each country;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas whistleblowing has proved useful in a number of areas, such as public health, taxation, the environment, consumer protection, combating corruption, conflicts of interest and offences involving forgery or abuse of position, combating preferential and discriminatory treatment and upholding social rights;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the protection of whistleblowers is not guaranteed in a number ofsome Member States, while many others have introduced advanced programmes to protect themvide them with comprehensive or at least substantial protection; whereas most Member States have provisions scattered across different laws, which creates uncertainty, and consequently whistleblowers may face a series of potential problems; whereas the result of that is a fragmented level of protection of whistleblowers in Europe, which makes it difficult for them to find out and enforce their rights and identify how to whistleblow, and creates legal insecurity in cross-border scenarios;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas in some Member States there is a generalised lack of resolve with regard to adopting and implementing legislation to protect the rights of whistleblowers, even though there is an obligation to identify and punish corruption, fraud and other offences;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas there is a need for a careful assessment of the necessity and legal feasibility of drawing up and consolidating a balanced European legal framework for the protection of whistleblowers, which could provide the necessary stimulus for the EU Member States to implement corresponding legislation;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G c (new)
Recital G c (new)
Gc. whereas there should be a single balanced, uniform and comprehensive legal framework to protect whistleblowers, which should include both the public and private sector, in order to create a bridge overcoming the current divide regarding policies and existing practices in relation to people reporting the conduct concerned in businesses and in state institutions;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the Commission has not proposed suitable legislative measures to protect whistleblowerstrengthen protection for whistleblowers and their rights in the EU in an effectively and uniform manner;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to present a horizontal legislative proposal with a view to effectively protecting whistleblowers in the EU before the end of this year; stresses that there are at present a number of possibilities for legal bases enabling the EU to take action on the matter; calls on the Commission to consider all those possibilities with the aim of proposing a balanced, coherent and effective mechanism that will guarantee, at EU level, uniform protection for the rights of whistleblowers in both the public and private sector;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Takes ‘whistleblower’ to mean anybody who, in good faith, reports on or reveals information on an unlawful or wrongful act or an act which undermines the public interest, in the context of his or her working relationship, be it in the public or private sector, of a contractual relationship, or of his or her trade union or association activities;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that a breach of the public interest includes, but is not limited to, acts of corruption, conflicts of interest, unlawful use of public funds, in particular illicit financial flows and the inequitable allocation of public resources, threats to the environment, health, public safety, national security and privacy and personal data protection, tax avoidance, attacks on workers’ rights and other social rights and attacks on human rights;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses that offering protection for whistleblowers should be done in a balanced way proportionate to the facts about which the whistleblower is disclosing information; takes the view that, in order to avoid slanderous accusations, this protection should be offered on the basis of convincing, relevant and conclusive evidence and should not give rise to unfair or disproportionate consequences for the institution, organisation or company concerned;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Highlights the importance of research and the exchange of best practices to encourage better protection for whistleblowers at European level;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to study the possibility of setting up a tiered system enabling whistleblowing inside and outside the organisation; stresses that, to do so, clear, efficient and uniform procedures should be established; believes that employers should be encouraged to introduce internal reporting procedures and that oneat least one independent and impartial person should be responsible for collecting reports in each organisation; considers that employee representatives should be involved in the assignment of that role;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Believes that reporting outside the organisation without first going through an internal step is not grounds to invalidate a report, file a lawsuit or refuse to give protection, although in such cases the organisation should report itself as soon as it becomes aware that the information concerned has been reported outside the organisation;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Believes that the option to report anonymously would encourage whistleblowers to share information which they would not share otherwise; stresses, in that regard, that clearly regulated and restrictive means of reporting anonymously should be introduced, setting out exactly in which cases means of reporting anonymously apply;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Stresses that nobody should lose the benefit of protection on the sole grounds that he or she has misjudged the facts or that the perceived threat to the public interest did not materialise, provided that, at the time of reporting, he or she acted in good faith and had reasonable grounds to believe them to be true;