NICOSIA – Cyprus became one of the first countries to adopt the EU whistleblowing directive – a month after the deadline – the measure protecting them from retaliation and not required to first report to police or the Attorney-General

The Parliament approved the required directive by a vote of 49-1, although whistleblower groups said the bloc didn’t go far enough to ensure that people reporting wrongdoing don’t face punitive measures, including being fired.

But lawmaker Irene Charalambides, who first introduced legislation for the protection of whistleblowers in 2016, said she was glad that least it was now

“From now on whistleblowers in Cyprus are not required to choose to talk to police or the Attorney-General, but they can talk to others including the House,” Charalambides said, reported Kathimerini.

In November, 2021, with EU countries facing a Dec. 17 deadline for passing the directive – which they ignored withut penalty – Charalambides led a team of legislators to the Justice Ministry, asking to review texts line-by-line and compare whistleblowing protections in an EU directive against proposed legislation to ensure compatibility, the report added.