Ombudsman investigates rules on whistleblowing in EU institutions

Emily O’Reilly has launched an inquiry into what rules are in place in the EU institutions to protect staff who report instances of misconduct.

The European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly,  has opened an inquiry into whether the European Union institutions comply with their obligation to introduce internal rules on whistleblowing.

O’Reilly announced yesterday (28 July) that she has written to nine EU institutions – the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers, the European External Action Service, the Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Auditors and the office of the European Data Protection Supervisor – and the EU agencies, asking them to inform her by 31 October of rules they already have in place on whistleblowing and what rules that they intend to introduce.

EU staff are obliged to report misconduct that they discover in the course of their work, but according to O’Reilly they tend to be reluctant to do so within their own organisation and often fear the consequences.

According to article 22c of the revised European Union’s staff regulation, which took effect on 1 January, EU institutions “shall put in place a procedure for the handling of complaints made by officials” in order to protect whistleblowers.

In February 2014 the Commission published an EU anti-corruption report that pointed out the importance of effective policies to reduce the opportunities for corruption. The Commission has been the most advanced in adopting guidelines, but has not made internal rules so far.

O’Reilly, who circulated draft internal rules to members of her office last week (24 July), said she wanted to ensure that “the EU institutions have in place the necessary rules to protect whistleblowers and to deal with complaints they submit about how they have been treated”.

Carl Dolan, director of corruption monitoring at the campaign organisation, Transparency International EU, welcomed the initiative. “Without the procedures in place to ensure that those who report wrongdoing are protected from retaliation and victimisation, the risks of corruption in EU administration are increased,” he said. Dolan said that the absence of internal rules was a particular concern in some of the EU’s oversight bodies, such as European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Court of Auditors.