Reporting crimes and abuses without fear of retaliation is a fundamental aspect of freedom of expression and is instrumental to fight misconduct and corruption, respecting principles of transparency and accountability. It is therefore essential that whistleblowers receive adequate protection and encouragement. The EU Directive on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law 2019/1937 (Whistleblowing Directive), effective as of 16 December 2019, aims to protect whistleblowers within the EU and prevent fraud, corruption, and serious offenses. However, despite the  transposition deadline was December 2021, many Member States encountered various challenges, leading to delays in transposing the Directive, incomplete implementation, lack of clarity, and insufficient regulated support for whistleblowers.

This report was produced by the Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection to evaluate the transposition of the EU Whistleblowing Directive in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and Romania, assess the quality of the transposition process and share findings and lessons learned.

CSD contributed to the report by carrying out research in Bulgaria and producing a comprehensive country chapter. The chapter outlines the transposition process of the EU Directive in Bulgaria and analyses the national legislation. It highlights issues such as the absence of provisions for anonymous reporting, the exclusion of breaches committed more than two years ago and other related to the effectiveness of the support measures.

The full report and all national background studies are available on the Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection website here.

The report was produced by the Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection. Support for the report was provided by the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, DC.