Activities of Angel DZHAMBAZKI related to 2016/2224(INI)
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (12)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Recalls that the European Court of Human Rights has stated in the Case of Guja v. Moldova that in order to determine whether a particular disclosure should be protected or not, it is important to establish that, in making the disclosure, the individual acted in good faith and in the belief that the information was true, that it was in the public interest to disclose it and that no other, more discreet means of remedying the wrongdoing was available to him or her;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that negative perception of the act of whistleblowing and whistle- blowers slows progress by many countries in passing/enforcing whistle-blower laws, but also weakens citizens' willingness to report irregularities even when legal protection mechanisms are already in place;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Reaffirms that the implementation of legal regulations encourages a speak-up culture and that whistle-blowing should be promoted as an act of good citizenship and supported by effective awareness-raising, communication and training efforts, while ensuring sufficient safeguards are in place for the protection of commercially sensitive company information, such as trade secrets;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Encourages Members States to be proactive in promoting an open culture within the workplace, whether it be public or private, which enables organisations to operate with high ethical standards, gives employees the confidence to speak up and therefore allows action to be taken to prevent or remedy any threats or harm;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Encourages Member States to evaluate regularly the effectiveness of the measures they implement, taking into account public opinion on attitudes towards the act of whistleblowing and whistle-blowers, cross-sectoral surveys of senior managers designated to receive and handle reports and independent research studies on whistleblowing across workplaces;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reaffirms the need for public and private organisations to establish internal whistle-blowing procedures for their employees, setting out clear confidential routes for making disclosures, including external disclosures, informing about their rights to protection against reprisal when reporting misconduct, and providing, where appropriate, confidential legal advice and relevant courses and trainings;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Underlines that the EU institutions must be interested and show strong willingness to support the role of whistle- blowers and the benefits they bring in correcting wrongdoing; reminds the lack of follow-up and proper settlement regarding whistle-blowing cases at this level; considers a matter of urgency, before a Directive on the protection of whistle-blowers would be adopted, that the Commission Guidelines on the protection of whistle-blowers within the EU institutions are properly implemented and urges all institutions, including Agencies, to establish clear rules for the protection of whistle-blowers, as well as measures against ´´revolving doors´´;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Urges the European Court of Auditors and the European Ombudsman to publish, each, by the end of 2017: 1) special reports containing statistics and a clear track record of whistle-blowing cases identified in the European institutions, businesses, associations, organisations and other bodies registered in the Union; 2) the follow-up of the institutions concerned in relation to the cases revealed, based on the current Commission guidelines and rules; 3) the outcome of each investigation open as a result of the information received from whistle-blowers; 4) the measures foreseen in every case for the whistle-blowers´ protection;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Is of the opinion that the EU institutions should serve as a role-model with regard to whistleblowing policy; expresses concern that a large number of EU agencies still have not implemented the 2012 guidelines on whistleblowing and that findings from a 2015 survey showed low awareness of the rules amongst the Commission staff; calls on the Commission to ensure that the guidelines are implemented in the agencies and that staff is adequately familiar with them and encourages the Commission to insert a standard clause in contracts and grant agreements requiring beneficiaries and persons working for these beneficiaries to report serious irregularities to OLAF.
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Expresses its concern at retaliation against whistle-blowers in their personal and professional lives, and at the possibility of initiating criminal and civil judicial proceedings against whistle- blowers; considers that people who want to reveal irregularities, mismanagement, misuse of funds, maladministration or potential corruption related to the activity of public and private bodies within the Union are not truly protected and do not feel protected; this is why many of them use other means to reveal the wrongdoing or even refrain from acting; therefore, calls for the creation of a clear horizontal legal framework that includes definitions, protection against different forms of reprisals, and exemptions from criminal and civil proceedings, according to criteria to be established; strongly believes that this will increase the citizens´ trust in their European and national bodies;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls for the creation of legal and secure disclosure channels at national and European level to facilitate reporting to the competent authorities of information on threats to the public interest; underlines the importance of confidentiality in all whistle-blowing related files and recalls that basic rules for the protection of anonymous whistle-blowers should be put in place, in cases where such protection is required;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Reminds the crucial role played by investigative journalists in revealing wrongdoing and stresses that they are an exposed group of professionals, often paying with their jobs, freedom and even their lives disclosures of massive irregularities and corruption schemes; calls for the inclusion of special measures to protect investigative journalists in a horizontal Proposal for the protection of whistle-blowers;