“During the last decade whistleblowing has increasingly been mainstreamed in the South-eastern European countries. Presently these countries have adopted the whistleblower legislation and have embarked on the process of reviewing their legal frameworks to align them with the EU Whistleblower Directive. This report is an assessment of whistleblower protection in 10-South Eastern European countries in terms of legislation, its implementation and outcomes, as well as number and type of whistleblower cases. With the exception of Bulgaria and Romania, every country has enacted a whistleblower law and appointed a public institution with designated staff to handle cases. Compared to most other regions in the world, Southeast Europe is well advanced in this process. There is progress with regard to activation of specific institutions responsible for handling whistleblower cases, with some countries resolving some of the cases and pursuing others in court. However, countries generally do not provide sufficient data and information to the public on the reasons that protection requests have been granted or denied. The report highlights some of the improvements and whistleblower cases, while acknowledging further challenges. It marks a new milestone in the commitment of civil society organizations to continue to play a role in the strengthening of whistleblower protection, freedom of expression and rule of law.”

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