Malta believes that the proposed directive on whistleblower protection is crucial for the citizens of the European Union and supports the Presidency of the Council in piloting it forward, Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government, Owen Bonnici said while addressing the Justice Affairs Council held Friday in Brussels.

The current proposal for whistleblower protection is being discussed within the Council of the European Union working structures and the proposal aims at fully exploiting the potential of whistleblower protection with a view of strengthening enforcement by setting out a balanced set of common minimum standards providing robust protection against retaliation for whistleblowers reporting on breaches in specific policy areas. 

Minister Bonnici encouraged other member states to swiftly adopt ambitious rules in their national legislation on the protection of whistleblowers, as its importance cannot be underestimated. 

He further remarked that whistleblower protection was one of the first pieces of legislation that was implemented by the Maltese legislature five years ago, immediately after the current administration was elected to power.  

The proposed directive is seeking to introduce new provisions on whistleblower protection to strengthen the proper functioning of the single market, the correct implementation of Union policies related to product safety, transport safety, environmental protection, nuclear safety, food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, public health, consumer protection, protection of privacy and personal data and security of network and information systems, competition, and the financial interests of the Union; and ensures consistent high standards of whistleblower protection in sectoral Union instruments where relevant rules already exist.

The Justice Affairs Council also reached an agreement on rules to appoint legal representatives for gathering evidence. This directive aims at facilitating cross-border access to e-evidence and it creates a cross-border framework for judicial orders to be executed by service providers.

Other discussions were also held on the opening of negotiations on the EU-U.S. Agreement on cross-border access to e-evidence and on the Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention.