Partit Demokratiku has written to the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, the Vice President of the Commission Frans Timmermans, the Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Věra Jourová, the Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulous, the European Parliament and the EP Petitions Committee and the ALDE MEP Group recommending that the concept and status of Whistle Blower be defined by Union legislation.

The letter was also copied to all Maltese MEPs.

It is an established principle within the Union that Whistle-blowers are central to the functioning of a democratic state, and that their protection is held to be important to the rule of law, the PD said in a statement today.  Currently, the EU, through the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), recommends that every member state strengthens its Integrity System which also includes Whistle-blower legislation.

PD’s call for a uniform and standard European Union-wide whistle-blower protection mechanism will ensure that the true principles of a Whistle-blower Act are upheld, and when any person is awarded Whistle-blower status, that status shall be respected and enforced by all Member States.

As we have seen in Malta, the implementation of our Whistle-blower Act leaves much to be desired. Jonathan Ferris’s application is a case in point. Such a system does not seem to work when the whistle-blower has evidence against the current Executive or high government officials, PD said.