‘The Invoice’: Whistleblower in Montenegro Sacked after Exposing Questionable Government Payment
PODGORICA – In a rare case of whistleblower retaliation that has boiled to the surface in Montenegro, a hotel employee was fired in June after exposing how a government agency paid the hotel bill for a political party.
Employee Reinstated in Bulgaria Following Civil Society Protests
SOFIA – One of two employees fired from Sofia’s National Art Gallery for criticizing government policy has been reinstated following large demonstrations and public calls for Bulgaria’s Culture Minister to resign.
National TV Show Breaks Silence on Whistleblowing in Albania
Whistleblowing is so rare and obscure in Albania that even when Parliament voted unanimously for a comprehensive whistleblower protection law on June 2, the breakthrough barely made a ripple.
Captured News Media in Bosnia, Serbia, and Montenegro
Political and business elites have gained control over many public and private media outlets in Bosnia, Serbia, and Montenegro -- mostly through non-transparent privatization, and advertising and budgetary support to loyal media. Consequently, media freedoms and freedom of expression in these countries are seriously impaired, as evidenced by the declining
Activists in Croatia Unite to Defend Media Freedoms
In response to a crackdown on media freedom, a coalition of NGOs including GONG (a Coalition member), Center for Peace Studies, Human Rights House Zagreb, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and Blueprint for Free Speech has launched a public campaign to defend freedom of expression. Public funding for certain non-profit
Macedonia Passes Strong Whistleblower Protections
Three years after it was first proposed, a comprehensive whistleblower law was passed by the Assembly of Macedonia in November 2015. The law represents another step in the country’s efforts to join the EU, for which it has been a candidate since 2005. The Law on Whistleblowers’ Protection, first suggested
Coalition-improved WBer Law Passes in Albania
Marking a major step forward in the fight against crime and corruption, the Albanian Parliament on June 2 passed a whistleblower protection law covering employees in the public and private sectors. Albania now joins Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia among Southeast European countries with designated whistleblower legislation. The
A Whistle for Kosovo’s Whistleblower Protection Law
On International Right to Know Day on Sept. 28, 2014, then-Kosovo Prime Minister Mr. Hashim Thaçi said his government was “working with full commitment towards the country's membership in the international initiative Open Government Partnership - OGP. We are in the process of adoption of the Action Plan.”