The Council of Ministers has approved this Tuesday, at the proposal of the Ministry of Justice, the Bill that regulates the protection of people who report sub-infractions that violate the European and national legal system and, consequently, who contribute to the fight against corruption in order to transpose Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of October 23, 2019, on the protection of people who report violations of European Union (EU) Law.
The purpose of the Directive is to protect against all persons who report corruption or fraud and violations of European Union Law and the internal legal order, to mediate the establishment of protected channels of information and the prohibition of such retaliation against them.
The Minister of Justice, Pilar Llop, stressed that the regulations that today “the Council of Ministers approves in the second round will make us improve as a country in rankings prepared by international organizations such as FATF, GRECO or Transparency International. ”.
And he added that "even more important is that it will help raise awareness and increase information about corruption by creating a climate of trust between the informant and the Administration."
With this Bill, not only is the European Directive, known as Whistleblowers, transposed, but also a series of objectives of the Plan and action of the Government in the fight against corruption, included in the coalition agreement in point 2.11.3 or in the IV Open Government Plan 2020-2024, it is necessary to protect informants as a priority in the comprehensive fight against corruption in both the public and private spheres.
In addition, adjusting to the need for this new country to have a holistic and effective framework for the protection of informants, as stated in the Report on the Rule of Law in 2020 and the GRECO Evaluation Report on Spain.
The Minister of Justice has highlighted that for the preparation of this text he has counted, "in addition to the mandatory reports, with the participation of civil society, as well as the autonomous communities and local entities, through the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces”.
In this sense, Llop has also pointed out the "positive assessments" that the Council of State has ruled in relation to the extension of the protection of informants beyond the scope strictly provided for by European regulations, among other issues.
Measures established by the new standard
The Draft Law establishes, among other measures, a legal regime that guarantees the effective protection of those people who, both within public and private organisations, communicate information regarding infringements of Union Law and national Law.
With this rule, any citizen, and any public official, may report suspicious operations, subsidies and awards, in the field of contracting or the rest of the legal system, and must be granted real and effective protection against any retaliation. the informant and has known the environment.
The Minister of Justice explained that the norm regulates internal information systems, which are outlined as a preferential cause of the informant's freedom to choose the channel to follow according to the circumstances and the risks of reprisals that they consider, also guaranteeing respect for the specific legislation on the matter and for different sectors such as finance, insurance, auditing, competition or securities markets.
It also establishes the obligation to have internal information channels for companies with more than 50 workers. Likewise, it is obliged to have an internal information system for all political parties, unions, business organizations, as well as the funds that depend on them for companies that manage public funds, regardless of their number of employees.
In the case of municipalities with a population of no more than 10.000 inhabitants, it is possible to compare means of receiving information with other visits to the smaller population; as well as with supra-municipal entities, if their activities are limited to the scope of the same autonomous community.
In the same way, the new norm allows formulating the information made anonymously, as in other models of informant protection at European, international or regional level already implemented.
In relation to the deadlines for carrying out the investigations and for responding to the informant, the project contemplates that they will be longer than many months, following the line set by the European standard, with the possibility of extension if the special complexity of the investigation makes it advisable.
Llop has insisted that the norm contemplates a detailed regime sanctioned for the actions or omissions that limit the defects and guarantees introduced at this time, especially those aimed at hindering, preventing, frustrating or slowing down the information.
In addition, the minister has highlighted that the communication or public disclosure of information on infractions of the legal system will be sanctioned with knowledge of its falsehood. In general, the sanctioning procedure contemplates fines that range between 1.001 and 300.000 euros, in the case of natural persons; and the 10.001 and one million euros, in the case of legal entities, he explained.
Finally, Llop thanked all the people who have put the issue of the fight against corruption on the public agenda: and their lives, much easier”.
