Penalty for late implementation of the Whistleblower Protection Directive
On 25 April 2024, following a complaint from the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Poland has failed to fulfil its obligation to implement the EU’s Whistleblower Protection Directive.
EU Member States were given time to 17 December 2021 to adopt the necessary national regulations. According to the CJEU, “the wide scope of the regulations under the mentioned directive does not justify the lengthening time being spent on legislative work”. The CJEU also did not accept the difficulties that Poland raised in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic or the reception of war refugees from Ukraine.
As a result, the CJEU fined Poland EUR 7 million. If the failure persists on the date when the CJEU’s judgment is published, Poland will also be required to pay a recurring fine of EUR 40,000 for each from the date the judgment is published until the failure has been remedied.
A draft bill on the protection of whistleblowers is working its way through the Sejm (Polish parliament’s lower house) – currently it has reached the stage of referral to a first reading in committees).
The text of the CJEU’s ruling may be read here: >>>.