Call: CERV-2024-CHAR-LITI
Total Budget: €441,937.82
Abstract
Bad governance, corruption, and fraud pose significant challenges to our societies, often undermining civil liberties, fundamental rights, and the public interest. At the same time, accountability is a cornerstone of democracy, requiring effective tools and procedures. One of the most powerful mechanisms for ensuring accountability is whistleblowing. Recognizing its importance, many governments worldwide have established laws and procedures to protect whistleblowers. Since 2019, the EU has also adopted a directive to safeguard individuals who report breaches of Union law. While all EU Member States have transposed this directive into their national legal systems, the process has often been slow, and some laws fall below EU standards, as noted by the EU Whistleblowing Monitor. Nonetheless, according to a European Parliament report, most Member States have aligned their laws with Article 2 of the directive, covering issues such as environmental protection— the primary focus of our project.
Addressing climate change, protecting the environment, and preventing ecological harm are top EU priorities, embedded in numerous policy initiatives. To meet environmental targets in the coming decades, good governance, transparency, and accountability are essential but not sufficient on their own. This project aims to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) and local authorities to ensure the effective implementation of the EU directive and national transposition laws. Additionally, it seeks to raise public awareness about whistleblowers’ rights and reporting channels, fostering a culture of accountability and environmental protection.
Objectives
Expected Results
Partners
Results
Report on the Current Situation
This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the current state of whistleblowing mechanisms for environmental protection across four European Union member states participating in the SENSOR project: Cyprus, Italy, Poland, and Sweden. The analysis draws upon desk research examining the transposition of EU Directive 2019/1937 into national law, qualitative data gathered through structured meetings with national authorities responsible for receiving and processing whistleblowing reports, and quantitative insights from surveys administered to civil society organizations and the general public.
Best practices inventory
The SENSOR inventory showcases best practices in whistleblowing to strengthen environmental protection and accountability across the EU. It highlights robust legal frameworks, effective communication tools and successful reporting systems that support the EU’s climate objectives. Drawing on desk research and stakeholder consultations, it incorporates insights from civil society, public authorities, policymakers and related EU projects.
Policy paper recommendation
This policy recommendation paper examines the role of whistleblowing as a governance instrument for environmental protection and the achievement of the European Union’s climate neutrality objectives. It has been developed within the framework of the SENSOR project and builds directly on empirical and legal findings presented in Deliverable D2.7 – Report on the Current Situation. The analysis draws on comparative legal assessment, structured consultations with competent national authorities, and survey data collected from civil society organisations and the general public in Cyprus, Italy, Poland, and Sweden.
SENSOR EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL
This curriculum aims to strengthen the capacity of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to support whistleblower protection in environmental reporting under Directive (EU) 2019/1937. It provides practical and legal knowledge on the EU whistleblower framework, national transposition laws, reporting channels, and whistleblower rights.The training combines legal analysis with case studies, simulations, and practical exercises to enhance participants’ ability to support safe and effective reporting. By improving the capacity of CSOs, the curriculum contributes to stronger environmental governance, transparency, and accountability across the European Union.
SENSOR E-LEAFLET
The leaflet aims to present the project’s to This curriculum aims to strengthen the capacity of Civil Society
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.