Whistleblowers are persons who report, within the organisation concerned or to an outside authority, or disclose, to the public, information on wrongdoings carried out in a work-related context, whether private or public, and regardless of the size of the organisation. They are essential players in national and global efforts to detect and prevent corruption and other malpractices that may otherwise remain hidden. 

However, they are often discouraged from reporting their concerns for fear of retaliation: they may lose their jobs, harm their career prospects, and even put their own lives at risk.

At the EU level, before the Directive's approval, whistleblower protection was provided only in specific sectors (mainly in the financial services area), and to varying degrees. This fragmentation and these gaps meant that whistleblowers were not adequately protected against retaliation in many situations. If potential whistleblowers do not feel safe in coming forward with the information they possess, this results in underreporting and therefore "missed opportunities" for preventing and detecting breaches of Union law which may cause serious harm to the public interest.

The lack of effective whistleblower protection could have negative impacts:

• on the freedom of expression and the freedom of the media, enshrined in Article 11 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; 

• on the application of EU law: whistleblowing is a means of providing national and EU enforcement systems with information, leading to effective detection, investigation and prosecution of breaches of Union rules; 

• on the proper functioning of the single market.