International cooperation
The Whistleblower Protection Office has joined the international structures dedicated to the protection of whistleblowers. Since 2021, it has been an active member of the Network of European Integrity and Whistleblowing Authorities (NEIWA), a network of state institutions focused on whistleblowers and integrity.
It brings together the national organisations of the Member States of the European Union and serves primarily as a platform for the exchange and dissemination of knowledge and experience in the field of whistleblower protection. It also informally oversees the transposition process of European Directive 2019/1937 on the protection of whistleblowers.
As a member of this network, the WPO offered its analytical capacity to map the activities and compare the individual institutions in the EU Member States that are also members of the network. In 2023, the Office's analysts also started to participate in two working groups, one on the preparation of the Network's internal rules of operation and the other on whistleblower support. The latter group is collecting knowledge and 'good practice' on the functioning of the different elements of whistleblower support from the different member organisations.
In March 2023, Zuzana Dlugošová was elected Vice President of NEIWA. Together with the Italian Laura Valli, who became the head of the network, she is in charge of coordinating and sharing experience in the protection of whistleblowers at European level.
