International Cooperation
EPAC/EACN workshop on whistleblowing at the BAK
Members of the European Partners against Corruption (EPAC) and European contact-point network against corruption (EACN) met for a workshop on whistleblowing at the Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAK) in Vienna on 28 and 29 September 2023. The event was attended by 30 participants and speakers from 19 different anti-corruption authorities and police oversight bodies.
After the welcome by the Vice-President of EPAC/EACN Anti-Corruption Strand and Head of BAK Department 1 (Resources, Support and Legal Affairs), the workshop was introduced by the Chair of the Network of European Integrity and Whistleblowing Authorities (NEIWA) and Board Member of the Italian Anticorruption Authority (ANAC), who highlighted in particular the importance of the Whistleblowing Directive and presented its main aspects.
After a substantive round of introductions, in which the participants presented the mandates and previous experiences of their organisations, the Executive Director of Transparency International – Austrian Chapter addressed the different dimensions of whistleblowing and gave an overview of the whistleblowing landscape.
In the afternoon of the first day, two working sessions were held on the relationship between whistleblowers and the private and public sectors, respectively, led by a legal expert from the BAK and the Assistant Chief Prosecutor of the Internal Investigations Division of the Prosecutor General's Office of Lithuania.
The second day of the workshop started with a working session and presentation on the Whistleblowing Learning Journey of the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA), the implementation of reporting channels, building trust and practical insights by a senior expert from the FMA.
In the final session entitled "Whistleblowing – quo vadis?", chaired by Martin Kreutner, Dean Emeritus of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) and EPAC/EACN Honorary Member, participants looked at the origins and development of democracies, whistleblowing and human rights, and discussed possible future developments of whistleblowing.
There was a lively exchange between all participants during this workshop. The main results will be made available to the public in order to promote the role of whistleblowing in the fight against corruption and the improvement of transparency.