Glossary
Competent Authority
A national body designated to receive whistleblower reports directly from reporters, bypassing the employer. Each EU member state designates one or more competent authorities under EU Directive 2019/1937 Article 11. Examples: Germany's Bundesamt für Justiz, France's Défenseur des droits, Italy's ANAC, Spain's AAI, and the Netherlands' Huis voor Klokkenluiders.
Full definition
Each EU member state has designated one or more competent authorities to operate the external reporting channel under EU Directive 2019/1937 Article 11. Notable examples: Germany has the Bundesamt für Justiz; France has the Défenseur des droits; Italy has ANAC (Autorità Nazionale Anticorruzione); Spain has the AAI (Autoridad Independiente de Protección del Informante); the Netherlands has Huis voor Klokkenluiders; Ireland has the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner. Reports made to the competent authority carry the same protection as internal reports.
Related terms
- External Reporting Channel A reporting route operated by a national competent authority, available as an alternative to internal channels. EU Directive 2019/1937 Article 11 requires each member state to designate authorities that receive reports directly, bypassing the employer. Reports made externally carry the same protection from retaliation as internal reports. Examples include Germany's Bundesamt für Justiz and France's Défenseur des droits.
- National Transposition The national law that each EU member state enacts to implement EU Directive 2019/1937 domestically. A directive is not directly applicable: each state must pass its own law. States may exceed the minimum requirements (Spain set a €1m fine ceiling) but may not fall below them. All 27 member states had transposed Directive 2019/1937 by 2026.