11 December, 2019

Xnet registers the first transposition of the European Union Whistleblower Protection Directive

The first proposal of the Spanish legislature is the result of the collaboration of civil society with its representatives in Congress.

A bill proposed by Xnet, and registered in the Spanish Congress with the support of 16 deputies.
 

The proposal for legislation has been registered with the initial support of sixteen deputies of the Courts (according to the Xnet’ method), belonging to political groups Compromís, ERC, Más País, BNG.

It is an initiative of Xnet, which has been also responsible for writing the text, as a member and in coordination with the WIN network (Whistleblowing International Network) and Government Accountability Project (GAP), and has, among others, the support of Blueprint for Free Speech and Eva Joly, magistrate and former MEP leader fighting against corruption and for the defense of whistleblowers, Plataforma por la Honestidad, and whistleblowers like Luis Gonzalo Segura, the former lieutenant of the Spanish Army and whistleblower.

Its registration comes few days after the Directive enters into force in Europe and three weeks after the publication of two reports prepared by the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), in which Spain was urged to achieve concrete results regarding the fight against corruption and regretting that a comprehensive and effective framework for the protection of whistleblowers is yet to be introduced in Spain.
The Whistleblower Protection Directive, which was approved with a broad consensus of all groups in the European Parliament (EP) last April (591 votes in favor, 29 against, 33 abstentions), has been published on the past 26 of November.

As was the case in the EP, this proposal aims to obtain the widest possible consensus in the Spanish Congress. If approved, it would make Spain the first country in the union to transpose the directive, a fact that is especially relevant for a country where whistleblowers lack any protection and that suffer a high degree of corruption.
 

Link to the proposed Law in the Xnet website [In attachment with the stamp of the Parliament]
https://xnet-x.net/en/template-law-full-protection-whistleblowers/
 

Last April, Xnet celebrated the approval of the European Union Whistleblower Protection Directive, a key tool to harmonize within the Union the fight against abuse of power, corruption and economic crimes.

With the approval of the directive culminated a long negotiation process between civil society organizations and European institutions (Parliament, Commission and Council), a process in which Xnet and the WIN network have been especially active, a process described by her rapporteur and S&D MEP Virginie Rozière as a shining example of collaboration between civil society, political groups and European institutions. The work of the The Greens-ALE group has also been crucial for its developement.

It also meant a turning point in the recognition and legal protection of the figure of the whistleblower at the European level, now provided with a strong and transversal legislation, in favor not only of the fight against corruption and fraud, but also against any abuse in areas of general interest: health, the environment, justice, democracy, consumer protection, including, in addition, both the public and private sectors.

The draft law promoted by Xnet that is registered today, contains the most demanding international standards. On the one hand, it integrates the most rigorous experiences of other countries and, on the other, it adapts the elements of the European directive, deepening the aspects that depend on its national transposition.

Xnet is a pioneer organization in the field of the defense of the rights of whistleblowers in Spain and in the creation of anonymous whistleblowing mailboxes powered by Globaleaks. Is the author of the alert protection law template that has inspired, been used and shaped laws and amendments at regional, Spanish and European scales. Xnet is also responsible for the implementation of anonymous whistleblowingt mailboxes – an essential tool to fully comply with the objectives of the directive – in administrations and institutions throughout Spain, starting with the Barcelona City Council, which was the first anonymous government mailbox to use anonymity technologies like Tor.

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