The EU Whistleblowing Directive, adopted in 2019, held the promise of a new era of transparency, accountability and corruption fighting across the EU member states and those aspiring to join the EU. It recognized that whistleblowers – individuals who risk their careers and reputations to expose wrongdoing – are essential allies in the fight against corruption, fraud, and other threats to the public interest. By mandating comprehensive legal frameworks to protect these courageous individuals from retaliation, the Directive sought to unleash the power of free speech and empower citizens to hold their governments and institutions accountable.

However, the path to the transposition and implementation has been far from smooth. As this report makes clear, many EU member states in Southeast Europe, missed the initial deadline for transposing the Directive into national law. This delay underscores the challenges of overcoming entrenched interests and bureaucratic inertia in the pursuit of greater transparency. Even now that laws have been passed, the critical question remains: are these laws truly fulfilling the vision of the EU Directive? Are they providing effective protection for whistleblowers in practice, or are they weakened by loopholes and gaps that render them largely symbolic?

This report seeks to answer these questions by examining the experiences of Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and Romania – four countries that have now enacted whistleblower protection laws. Through detailed analysis and case studies, it assesses the strengths and weaknesses of these legal frameworks, identifies key challenges in implementation, and offers concrete recommendations for improvement.

CSD contributed to the report produced by the Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection by conducting research in Bulgaria and creating a detailed country chapter.

Read the full report here.