Whistleblowers acting in the public interest must be protected across the EU, David Casa, the Nationalist Party’s head of delegation in the European Parliament said.

Many member states still did not have laws protecting whistleblowers and those that did, in many cases, failed to adequately enforce the law, he said.

David Casa, who is the EPP’s coordinator on the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, made his comments following the adoption of a dossier on Protecting Whistleblowers, which he was responsible drafting and that was approved with 50 votes in favour and two abstentions.

The Casa Opinion calls for greater consistency in legislation across the EU, particularly in view of the fact that cases often had a cross-border dimension.

“Whistleblowers play a fundamental role as a deterrent to prevent abuse and corruption and should be seen as an accountability mechanism to enable public scrutiny of governments as well as companies.

“Unfortunately exposing wrongdoing can come at great personal risk. This is why there must be legal certainty throughout the EU and that the burden of proof must lie with the employer,” Mr Casa said.