European Union Establishes EULeaks as Platform for Whistleblowers

The Green-European Free Alliance, a political group in European Parliament, launched a platform called “EULeaks” on September 27 for workers in the European Union who wish to anonymously report instances of wrongdoing on the part of the Union’s government. The EULeaks process begins with tips from places that are under EU Law. Then, staff members access a secure Tor browser to submit the concerns. An encrypted Tor browser is particularly safe because it prevents outsiders from locating the sites a user accessed or tracking down the geographic location of the user. All posts are screened and analyzed before public exposure.

An important question surrounding EULeaks is whether more light will be shed on the EU’s decision-making process, implementation of EU law, and administration. Belgian MEP Bart Staes claims that the function of this information outlet is to uncover what is interesting for the public and not to attack specific Members of Parliament (MEPs) or use leaks for the Greens’ political convenience.

The MEP further defended the creation of EULeaks by citing a recent investigation regarding the relationship between European countries and the Panama papers. After the realization of possible connection between the EU and the corruption indicated in the Panama papers, Staes acted first to combat any mistrust. For Staes, EULeaks presents a pivotal opportunity to promote the image that the EU prioritizes transparency.

Legal protection for whistleblowers marks another incentive for development of EULeaks, according to Greens Parliamentarian Philippe Lamberts. After the news that Luxemburg decided to prosecute the whistleblowers from the LuxLeaks scandals, the European Parliament sought a change in whistleblower safety regulations.

However, not all MEPs are proponents of EULeaks. British MEP David Coburn argued that the EU is meddling with problems out of its reach. The challenge that MEPs face with EULeaks is protecting sources and choosing which information the public will be able to see. According to Julia Stein, a German journalist from Norddeutschen Rundfunk, the internal crux of an efficient organization system is sorting through 11.5 million documents and choosing the most relevant to public interest.The workings of EULeaks is still tentative, so whether the program can organize the documents efficiently is still in question.