Spain To Debate Whistleblower Protection Proposal

After many delays, whistleblower protection has made it on to the legislative agenda in Spain. Over the next two days, Spain’s Congress will debate and vote on a proposal made by the political party Ciudadanos. If the proposal is supported, this will be the real start of practical discussions about how to transpose the EU Whistleblower Directive 2019/1937 into national law.

Blueprint for Free Speech has conducted a legal analysis of the Ciudadanos’ proposal. Our analysis shows that the proposal as it stands does not adequately replicate the standards in the EU Directive, falling short in key issues, such as the creation of internal channels in the private and public sector and the protection of disclosures to the public.

Spain needs to transpose the EU Directive into Spanish national law by the end of 2021. When it does so, it should also take the opportunity to apply international standards on top of this. The proposed legislation is inadequate and does not meet the legal requirement on Spain to apply the EU Directive protecting whistleblowers. This is particularly so since there are better options already on the table for the Congress that meet these higher standards and fully apply the EU Directive.

Spain cannot look to the past while Europe looks forward.