THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse (market abuse regulation) and repealing Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directives 2003/124/EC, 2003/125/EC and 2004/72/EC [OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 1.], and in particular Article 32(5) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Persons reporting actual or potential infringements of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (whistle-blowers) to competent authorities may bring new information to the attention of competent authorities and assist the latter in detecting and imposing sanctions for market abuse offences. However, whistleblowing of infringements may be deterred by fear of retaliation, discrimination or disclosure of personal data. Adequate arrangements regarding whistleblowing are hence necessary to ensure the overall protection and the respect of the fundamental rights of the whistle-blowers and the accused persons. Persons who knowingly report wrong or misleading information to competent authorities should not be considered as whistle-blowers and thus should not enjoy the protection mechanisms.

(2) Anonymous reporting should be allowed by competent authorities and the protection mechanisms of this Directive should also apply where an anonymous whistle-blower decides to reveal its identity to the competent authority at a later stage. Whistle-blowers should be free to report either through internal procedures, where such procedures exist, or directly to the competent authority.