Whistleblowing rules
Dear European Ombudsman,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
any documents including drafts consultations and replies by your staff or third parties as well as annexes and other material used in or planning or describing the process of drafting your new internal rules/policy on whistleblowing.
Did you also do an evaluation of the treatment of whistleblowers by your offices in the past? If thats the case please also include these documents. If not, why not?
Yours faithfully,
Guido Strack
Dear Mr. Strack,
We have received your request for information/documents. We will deal with
it as rapidly as possible and reply to you no later than 15 working days
from the date of reception. (INC2014-004272)
Kind regards,
Michael Weiskorn
Registry
Dear Mr. Strack,
We have received your request for information/documents. We will deal with
it as rapidly as possible and reply to you no later than 15 working days
from the date of reception. (INC2014-004272)
Kind regards,
Michael Weiskorn
Registry
Dear Mr Strack,
On 29 July 2014, you made the following request (INC2014-004272):
"Dear European Ombudsman,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in
Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the
following information:
any documents including drafts consultations and replies by your staff or
third parties as well as annexes and other material used in or planning or
describing the process of drafting your new internal rules/policy on
whistleblowing.
Did you also do an evaluation of the treatment of whistleblowers by your
offices in the past? If that is the case please also include these
documents. If not, why not?"
Your request for documents has been dealt within under Article 14.1 of the
European Ombudsman's Implementing Provisions, and therefore under the
rules of Regulation 1049/2001 to which the aforementioned article refers.
For the handling of your request, I have taken the view that it covers two
sets of documents. It first covers the draft documents authored by the
European Ombudsman's draftsperson and the management, as well as comments
that the Staff Committee submitted in response to an invitation by the
management. It secondly covers all contributions made by individual staff
members in response to a consultation carried out by the Staff Committee.
With regard to the first set of documents, you will find all the documents
here attached, with no redactions.
With regard to the second set of documents, I hope for your understanding
that additional analysis and internal consultation with individual staff
members has been deemed necessary. Several staff members who responded to
the Staff Committee's internal consultation did so on the understanding
that the content of their contribution would not be made available, with
their name, to anyone other than the Staff Committee. Even if their names
were to be blanked out, their anonymity could probably not be guaranteed
given the small size of our institution (writing style etc. would in many
cases be internally recognised). I would like to discuss the matter with
the staff members concerned, but the current holiday period has made it
difficult for me to do so.
I do hope for your understanding for this shortcoming in my response, and
also hope that it will to some extent be compensated for through the
provision of the attached document containing the Staff Committee's
comments, which were, of course, formulated in light of the contributions
received from individual staff members. I expect to be able to provide a
final substantive response on the issue by 5 September 2014.
In response to the final question in your request, I have consulted
relevant staff who informed me that no formal evaluation was carried out
because it was not considered necessary. Moreover, staff involved in the
drafting process were already aware of issues raised by complaints to the
Ombudsman from whistleblowers in other institutions. Insofar as it was
relevant, this institutional knowledge was taken into account in drafting
internal rules to encourage and protect members of the Ombudsman's own
staff who may have reason to blow the whistle under Article 22a SR.
As you are aware, a formal confirmatory application may be submitted
against the present response to your initial request.
Kind regards,
Peter Bonnor
[1]Logo European Ombudsman
Peter Bonnor
Head of Registry
T. +33 (0)3 88 17 25 41
1 avenue du Président Robert Schuman
CS 30403
F - 67001 Strasbourg Cedex
T. + 33 (0)3 88 17 23 13
F. + 33 (0)3 88 17 90 62
[2]www.ombudsman.europa.eu
References
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