ETAF participates in the European Commission's evaluation of the Whistleblower Protection Directive

On 22 April 2026, ETAF responded to the European Commission’s public consultation on the evaluation of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (the “Whistleblower Protection Directive”).

While welcoming the Directive’s contribution to strengthening ethical behaviour and the enforcement of EU law, ETAF identified two key implementation shortcomings:

1. the inconsistent translation and application of the term “legal professional privilege” across Member States creates legal uncertainty and unequal treatment of regulated legal professions, including tax advisers who are subject to equivalent statutory duties of professional secrecy; and
2. the obligation to establish internal reporting channels from 50 employees imposes disproportionate compliance costs on medium-sized professional service firms.

ETAF therefore calls on the Commission to clarify that the confidentiality exemption covers all regulated legal advisory professions, including tax advisers, that are subject to equivalent statutory secrecy obligations under national law, regardless of whether they hold the formal title of “lawyer”. ETAF also calls on the Commission to raise the internal reporting threshold from 50 to at least 100 employees, in line with its commitment to reducing administrative burdens on businesses.