The EU’s Supreme Court in Luxembourg decided on Thursday whether it failed to adequately protect the whistleblower.
The case is based on a complaint from the European Commission in March 2023, accusing Germany of failing to implement EU legislation on time.
If the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is consistent with the committee, Germany could face fines.
The EU passed legislation in 2019, such as the so-called Panama Papers or Facebook processing user data, after whistleblowers played a decisive role in discovering several scandals.
EU countries must transfer European legislation to national laws by the end of 2021. Germany’s Whistleblower Law came into effect in July 2023.
EU countries are obliged to provide appropriate channels by secretly reporting violations of EU legislation.
EU law reads: “By reporting violations of union laws that are harmful to the public interest, such persons are ‘whistleblowers’, thus playing a key role in exposing and preventing such violations and safeguarding social welfare.”
“However, potential whistleblowers are often reluctant to report concerns or suspicions about their fears of revenge.”
The rules cover violations of EU law in the areas of money laundering, corporate taxation, data protection, food and product safety, environmental protection and nuclear safety.
