On 16 December 2019, Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law entered into force (hereinafter: Whistleblower Directive; WBD). Based on a Commission proposal of 23 April 2018 and accompanied by an intensive policy debate, the final version of the Directive represents the most far-reaching piece of European Union legislation in the field of whistleblowing law to date, both in terms of depth and scope of regulation. The Member States of the European Union are now obliged to transpose the Directive’s provisions essentially by 17 December 2021. For most Member States, this will mark the first time they will adopt a comprehensive whistleblowing law. Hence, the transposition of the WBD will bring with it various challenges, but also multiple opportunities to improve the current legal framework and its practical implications, both of which are discussed in this two-part article series. Part 1 of the series will first discuss the Directive’s background and the main regulatory elements, followed by an in-depth analysis of its material and personal scope as well as the general conditions for whistleblower protection.

2019年12月16日，欧洲议会和理事会于2019年10月23日颁布的关于保护举报违反联盟法者的指令（EU）2019/1937（以下简称：举报人指令; WBD）。根据欧盟委员会2018年4月23日的提案并进行了激烈的政策辩论，该指令的最终版本代表了欧盟在举报法律领域迄今为止影响最深的一部法律，无论是深度还是范围监管。现在，欧洲联盟成员国有义务在2021年12月17日之前基本上撤消该指令的规定。对于大多数成员国而言，这将标志着它们将首次通过一项全面的举报法律。因此，WBD的转变将带来各种挑战，但是在这个分为两部分的系列文章中将讨论改善当前法律框架及其实际含义的多种机会。该系列的第1部分将首先讨论该指令的背景和主要监管要素，然后深入分析其实质性和个人范围以及保护举报者的一般条件。