The Federal Minister of Justice, together with the Hessian Minister of Justice, headed the working group that was supposed to resolve the differences.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin In the future, whistleblowers will be able to point out grievances in companies without having to reckon with disadvantages themselves. On Friday night, a federal and state working group agreed on a compromise. The Handelsblatt learned this from negotiating circles.
The SPD interior expert Sebastian Fiedler confirmed the agreement. “The negotiating atmosphere was very good, serious and constructive,” Fiedler told Handelsblatt.
The federal government had previously tried in vain to get a majority for its plans for a whistleblower law. Recently, the Federal Council had rejected a corresponding project. After a lengthy dispute as to whether the law could still be passed through the Bundestag in an amended form without the approval of the Chamber of States, the Federal Government convened the Mediation Committee.
The compromise stipulates that, contrary to the original plans, companies do not have to set up a reporting point for anonymous tips. The CDU and CSU had rejected this at the request of business, as it would have involved considerable costs. Instead, companies may preferentially offer internal communication channels.
“I find that bearable because I firmly believe that all entrepreneurs are smart enough to buy such systems even without this legal obligation,” said Fiedler. In any case, only companies that generate millions in sales are affected. “Companies are therefore urgently advised to set up the best possible internal reporting channels, otherwise they have to fear that people reporting this will contact external reporting offices or possibly even the public,” says Fiedler.
The fines should also only amount to 50,000 euros instead of the original 100,000 euros. The traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP, on the other hand, enforced the law to apply in many areas, such as food and environmental law, administrative offenses and criminal offenses.
61,000 euros fine – daily
The rules stipulate that companies with at least 250 employees must set up their own whistleblower systems within three months of the law coming into force. Companies below the threshold have until December. According to the working group’s compromise, the law itself should apply from mid-June.
The working group was headed by Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) and the Hessian Minister of Justice Roman Poseck (CDU). The group met for many hours last week and on Thursday. A number of one-on-one meetings were needed to reach a compromise. “After long deliberations, we have brought a difficult issue to a responsible conclusion,” it said.
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The mediation committee is to formally decide on the compromise next Tuesday. After that, the Bundestag could confirm the agreement directly and then the Bundesrat on Friday. This would allow the law to come into force quickly. It was important to all sides, as it was said.
The reason is the fines that Germany has to pay to the EU Commission. Germany should have transposed a corresponding directive into national law by December 17. Since then, the Federal Republic has been paying 61,000 euros – every day.
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