Activities of Evelyn REGNER related to 2016/2224(INI)
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (37)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the role of whistle-blowers is to help inplay an instrumental role in exposing, deterring and preventing wrongdoing and corruption, thus contributing to the promotion of the rule of law, transparency and democratic accountability within society;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas recent mass leaks revealing corruption, such as the Panama Papers affair or the avoidance of rules, but also the many disclosures about the circumventing onf labour law leading in certain casesrules and codetermination standards, leading to precarious employment, confirm the importance of the role played by whistle- blowers in defending the public interest;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas concerns have often been raised thatsome take a negative view of whistle-blower courage, as a result of which whistle-blowers face hostility and exclusion at their place of work, ra and as such put their than being viewed positivelycareer and livelihood at risk in the public interest and out a sense of moral obligation;
Amendment 15 #
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 its citizens freedom of expression, whereas whistleblowing is a fundamental aspect of the freedom of expression;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the objective of whistle- blowing should be the reporting of acts that represent a threat to the public interest or a possible breach of law;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas whistleblowers play an important role in reporting unlawful or improper conduct which undermines the public interest and the functioning of our societies;
Amendment 33 #
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 protection, consumer protection, combating corruption and upholding social rights;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas corruption is onand tax evasion, but also the circumventing of industrial safety, health, environmental and codetermination standards, constitute some of the most serious problems facing the world today, as ithey can hamper a state’s ability to deliver inclusive economic growth in various fields;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls for action to change the public perception of whistle-blowers by highlighting their positive role as an early warning mechanism toto detect and prevent abuses and corruption and to enable public scrutiny of state action;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Welcomes the recommendation of the Council of Europe concerning the scope of a European framework for the protection of whistle-blowers which should cover all individuals working in either the public or private sectors, irrespective of the nature of their working relationship and whether they are paid or not;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for measures to protect workers who detect and report wrongdoings in the field of unemploymentconduct in connection with labour rights, industrial safety standards and codetermination standards that, in good faith, they view as an abuse or wrongdoing;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Points to the dangers of excluding whistle-blowing workers from career progression and of retaliation by colleagues at their workplace, and the dampening effect this has on those who may come across wrongdoing, stopping them, in the process, from reporting infringements;
Amendment 70 #
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 broad coherent and effective mechanism;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. RecallStresses the importance ofto set up devising instruments at the European level to ban any form of retaliation, whether this be active dismissal or passive measures such as, discrimination at the workplace such as retributive transfers, reduced prerogatives or working hours, loss of benefits, or passive measures such as the threat of such actions or the blocking of promotion;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Recalls that any future normative framework should take into account the rules, rights and duties that govern and impact on employment; further emphasises that this should be done in consultation with social partners and in compliance with collective bargaining agreements;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that whistle-blowers and their family members whose lives or safety are in jeopardy must be entitled to receive effective and adequate protection;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Considers that the burden of proof should lie with the employer who must clearly demonstrate that any measures taken against an employee were in no sense connected with a whistle-blower’s disclosure;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges employers and the authorities to swiftly act on the information reported to them after this has been thoroughly verified, and to address the shortcomings identified; considers that the European framework should encourage reporting or disclosure by individuals for public interest reporting and disclosures; highlights the necessity to ensure: – the establishment of appropriate internal reporting procedures in cooperation with workers' representatives ensuring anonymity and confidentiality; – the reporting to relevant public regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies and supervisory bodies; – the disclosure of information of public interest to the public, for example to a journalist or an elected representative;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls that proper European legislation is needed; encourages Member States to develop legislative instruments that protect those who report justified and proven breaches of conduct to public authoritthe Commission to propose legislative instruments ensuring effective measures to protect whistle-blowers acting in the public interest when disclosing confidential information of companies and public bodies;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. considers that individuals who are outside the traditional employee-employer relationship, such as consultant, contractors, trainees, volunteers, students workers, temporary workers, former employees as well as citizens should also be given access to reporting channels and appropriate protection when they reveal information on an unlawful or wrongful act or an act which undermines the public interest;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Commission to develop instruments focusing on providing protection against unjustified legal prosecutions, economic sanctions and discrimination, and calls in this connection for a general fund to be set up, financed in part from monies recovered or proceeds from fines, to give appropriate financial support to whistle-blowers in the EU whose livelihood is put at risk as a result of disclosures of relevant facts;
Amendment 91 #
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, criminal offences, breaches of legal obligation, miscarriage of justice, abuse of authority, conflicts of interest, unlawful use of public funds, 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 and acts to cover up any of these breaches;
Amendment 93 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls that any future normative framework should take into account the rules, rights and duties that govern and impact on employment; further emphasises that this should be done in consultation withwith the involvement of social partners and in compliance with collective bargaining agreements;
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. RecallSuggests that in the event of false accusations which are deliberately false and were made in bad faith, those responsible should be held accountable.
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that the role of whistleblowers in revealing serious attacks on the public interest has proved its significance on many occasions over a number of years and that whistleblowers contribute to democracy, transparency of politics and economy, public information and have proved to be a crucial resource for investigative journalism and for an independent press;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that one of the barriers to whistleblowers’ activities is the absence of clearly identified means of reporting; stresses that the absence of clearly identified means of reporting causes a number of whistleblowers to remain silent; expresses its concern about the retaliation and pressures which whistleblowers face when they address the guiltywrong person or party in their organisation;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that the whistleblower should give priority to teach organisation should set clear reporting channel allowing the whistleblower to blow the whistle inside his or her organisation’s internal reporting mechanisms or to the competent authorities; stresses, however,, underlines that each employee should be informed of that reporting procedure, which should guarantee confidentiality and a treatment of the alert in an reasonable time; underlines that in the absence of a favourable response from the organisation, or if the whistleblower is at risk or urgently needs to report information, he or she must be able to turn to non-governmental organisations or the press;
Amendment 140 #
11a. recalls the right of the public to be informed of any wrongdoing that undermines the public interest, underlines in that respect that it should always be possible for a whistleblower to publicly disclose information on an unlawful or wrongful act or an act which undermines public interest;
Amendment 149 #
13. Expresses its concerns about the risks run by whistleblowers at their place of work, in particular the risks of direct or indirect retaliation by the employer and by those working for or acting on behalf of the employer; stresses that retaliation usually takes the form of suspending, slowing down or stopping career progression or even dismissal, along with psychological harassment; stresses that retaliation is a barrier to whistleblowers’ activities; believes that it is necessary to introduce protective measures against destabilising practices; takes the view that retaliation should be penalised and sanctioned effectively; stresses that, once somebody is recognised as a whistleblower, the measures taken against him or her should be brought to an end and whistleblower should receive full compensation for the prejudice and damage incurred;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Stresses that whistle-blowers and their family members whose lives or safety are in jeopardy must be entitled to receive effective and adequate protection;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Expresses its concern about the practice of gagging orders, which involve filing or threatening to file lawsuits against the whistleblower not in an effort to have him or her convicted, but in an effort to bring about self-censorship or financial, mental or psychological exhaustion; believes that such abuse of process should be subject to criminal penalties and sanctions;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Points out the risk that whistleblowers run of having legal and civil proceedings brought against them; stresses that they are often the weaker party in trials; considers it necessary to provide for a reversal of the burden of proof in respect of retaliation against and pressure on whistleblowers; takes the view that confidentiality should be guaranteed throughout the proceedings and that the identity of the whistleblower shall not be revealed without his or her consent; underlines that a breach of identity without the whistleblower' consent should be subject to criminal penalties and sanctions;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Member States to introduce an independent body, with sufficient budgetary resources and adequate personnel, responsible for collecting reports, verifying their credibility and guiding whistleblowers, particularly in the absence of a positive response from their organisationzation, following the response given to the alert and publishing an annual report on the alerts received and their treatment ;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to propose the establishment of a similar body at EU level, with sufficient budgetary resources and adequate personnel, responsible for coordinating Member State activities, particularly in cross-border cases; believes that that European body should also be able to collect reports, verify their credibility and guide whistleblowers when the response given by the Member State is obviously not appropriate; suggests that the latter publish an annual report on the alerts received and their treatment; considers that the European Ombudsman’s mandate could be extended to serve that purpose;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Believes that as once an alert has been recognized serious, it should lead to proper investigation and followed by appropriate measures;