On 17 December 2021, the deadline expired for 21 out of 27 Member States to transpose Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of EU law(1)(2).

Currently, only seven out of 27 Member States have managed to transpose this Directive. Given the recent incidents in Greece related to the investigation of the Novartis scandal(3)(4)(5), Member States’ transposition process for Directive (EU) 2019/1937 seems quite fragile. In addition to the aforementioned incidents, on 30 January 2022 the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, indirectly interfered with the Greek judiciary’s work by making a statement in the Hellenic Parliament accusing the journalists investigating the Novartis scandal charged with criminal offences of also belonging to a criminal organisation.

Given all of the above:

1. How is the Commission planning to ensure that Member States transpose Directive (EU) 2019/1937 urgently and effectively, while at the same time ensuring the transparency of the transposition process?

2. How does the Commission view the ongoing violations of the principle of judicial independence in Greece by the Greek Prime Minister and government?