I only know that I know nothing about Spanish whistleblowers

By Maria Cristina Fernandez Gonzales, EWI Fellow

Since 2019, Spain and other European countries have been called to implement the European Directive on the protection of whistleblowers, 2019/1937. Amid a scenario rife with major corruption scandals in various political parties, debates about how to tackle corruption began in 2016 and finally materialized in 2023 with the introduction of a new law.

However, the process of transposing this directive in Spain has had some peculiarities that make us wonder if there’s really any political will to effectively combat corruption.

In 2021, the deadline for all countries to transpose the Directive expired. Many of them already had some measures in place – though not enough – to protect whistleblowers, while other countries had no regulations at all. In Spain, several autonomous communities had followed the United Nations Convention against Corruption, implementing anti-corruption and whistleblower protection agencies, such as the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.

In the following years, with Spain missing the transposition deadline, it seemed we’d forgotten about the potential sanctions we faced for this delay. However, at the start of 2023, after several Justice Commission meetings, the good news came: Law 2/2023 on whistleblower protection was introduced. By March, it had been debated and approved by our General Courts.

Everything seemed positive. Corruption whistleblowers celebrated this new social milestone, given the high interest and impact of the Directive and the long delay in Spain's effective action. However, the same law introduced another 18-month deadline for creating a national anti-corruption strategy and establishing an Independent Whistleblower Protection Authority. Probably, another deadline that won’t be met.

Five months ago, the urgent process to create the Independent Whistleblower Protection Authority started without public consultation. Then, almost two months ago, a seven-day public consultation period opened for the creation of this institution. Expecting various professionals to gather and contribute their expertise in just seven days, after having previously been denied the opportunity, seemed unrealistic.

We are in 2024, and all we know is that the Independent Authority won’t truly be independent due to its affiliation with the Ministry of Justice, laden with political influence. We also know that the national strategy to fight corruption is still being drafted. As someone once said: we only know that we know nothing.

Maria Cristina Fernandez Gonzales is a Fellow at the European Whistleblowing Institute, a PhD in Rule of Law and Global Governance (Universidad de Salamanca), and Lecturer in Criminology at the European University of Valencia (UEV).