The European Union’s highest court in Luxembourg is to decide on Thursday whether Germany has failed to adequately protect whistleblowers.

The case is based on a complaint by the European Commission from March 2023 alleging that Germany did not implement EU legislation on time.

If the European Court of Justice (ECJ) sides with the commission, Germany could face a hefty fine.

The EU passed its legislation in 2019 after whistleblowers played a decisive role in uncovering several scandals, such as the so-called Panama Papers or Facebook’s handling of user data.

EU countries had until the end of 2021 to transpose the European legislation into national law. Germany’s whistleblower law entered into force in July 2023.

EU countries are obliged to provide suitable channels through which breaches of EU legislation can be confidentially reported by whistleblowers.

“By reporting breaches of Union law that are harmful to the public interest, such persons act as ‘whistleblowers’ and thereby play a key role in exposing and preventing such breaches and in safeguarding the welfare of society,” the EU law reads.

“However, potential whistleblowers are often discouraged from reporting their concerns or suspicions for fear of retaliation.”

The rules cover violations of EU law in the areas of money laundering, corporate taxation, data protection, food and product safety, environmental protection and nuclear safety.