Posted on 04/15/2016 6:15:47 AM PDT by Olog-hai
The European Union is sending mixed signals on business transparency. On Tuesday, the European Commission responded to the Panama Papers disclosures by unveiling new legislation that would force more tax transparency on major companies in member states. But on Thursday, the European Parliament voted in favor of a new measure that critics say could prevent such leaks in the future.
Campaigners say the new Trade Secrets Protection Act — aimed at protecting multinationals from corporate spying — will effectively criminalize whistleblowers and make it less likely that revelations like the Panama Papers and the Volkswagen scandal will ever see the light of day. […]
“The Trade Secrets Directive seems to have a quite chilling effect on whistleblowing, and is clearly in contrast to the public outcry over the Panama Papers,” he (Giulio Carini, of the Italian anti-corruption organization Riparte Il Futuro) added. Part of the reason for the contradiction is timing — the Trade Secrets directive has been under discussion for years, while the dramatic revelations about how the powerful hide their money burst into the public domain only two weeks ago. …
(Excerpt) Read more at dw.com ...
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