EU passes law to protect whistle-blowers

The European Parliament adopted a new law on Tuesday aimed at shielding whistle-blowers from retaliation and encouraging people to report wrongdoing.

The law, which was approved with 591 votes in favor, 29 against, and 33 abstentions, and that has already received the backing of European Union ministers, marks the first time that whistle-blowers have been given EU-wide protection and also creates "safe channels" that allow people to report breaches of EU law, the European Parliament News reported.

Under the new law, people will be able to report breaches of EU laws both within an organization and to public authorities with a "high level of protection". The protection applies to whistle-blowers reporting alleged wrongdoing in a wide range of areas, including in public procurement, financial services, money laundering, product and transport safety, nuclear safety, public health, and consumer and data protection.