Members of European Parliament looking to enact EU-wide protections for whistleblowers suffered a setback last week, as the European Commission signaled it will not move forward with the proposal at this time.

 Members of parliament had included whistleblower protections in an organized crime and corruption package approved during its plenary session Oct. 23. MEPs called on counterparts in the European Commission, which initiates new laws, to submit legislation by the end of the year to establish “an effective and comprehensive” European whistleblower program. The program would apply to both the public and private sectors, and protect individuals who detect irregularities and report cases of either national or cross-border corruption which relate to EU financial interests. The program noted the difficult conditions under which such whistleblowers often have to live, whether due to retaliation, physical separation from family or home, or professional exclusion. MEPs also called on member states to enact appropriate and effective protection for whistleblowers.

However, Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU commissioner for home affairs, told members of parliament during the plenary debate that the commission does not plan to move forward with the legislation, according to a report published in EUobserver.com. The news site said Malmstrom praised other pieces of the report, but pointed to existing international standards.

“For the time being, the commission does not however intend to propose new legislation on the definition of corruption or approximations of statutes or limitations of corruption offenses or protection for whistleblowers,” Malmstrom was quoted as saying.

The news site reported that members of the Council of Europe may take up the initiative by including whistleblower protections in the European Convention of Human Rights, a process that could take as long as two years. Some whistleblower rights already are protected as an issue of free speech.

The issue has gained the spotlight in the wake of the actions by American Edward Snowden, the whistleblower on the U.S. surveillance program whose revelations caused a media and diplomatic frenzy. Some member states, including the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, and Hungary, already have whistleblower protections on the books. However, some only protect certain types of employees like government workers or certain types of disclosures like safety issues. Other member states, including Ireland, the Netherlands, and Denmark, are in the process of formulating laws on the issue.

Earlier this month, lawmakers in the Czech Republic rejected an attempt to create a whistleblower protection program there. Some legislators criticized the bill itself while others questioned the morality of encouraging informants.

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