1. Competent authorities shall establish effective mechanisms to encourage and enable reporting of actual or potential infringements of this Regulation to them.

2. The mechanisms referred to in paragraph 1 shall include at least:

(a) specific procedures for the receipt of reports of actual or potential infringements and their follow-up, including the establishment of secure communication channels for such reports;

(b) appropriate protection for employees working under a contract of employment who report infringements at least against retaliation, discrimination and other types of unfair treatment by their employer or third parties;

(c) protection of the identity and personal data of both the person who reports the infringements and the natural person who is allegedly responsible for an infringement, at all stages of the procedure unless such disclosure is required by national law in the context of further investigation or subsequent judicial proceedings.

3. Member States may provide for financial incentives to persons who offer relevant information about actual or potential infringements of this Regulation to be granted in accordance with national law where such persons do not have other pre-existing legal or contractual duties to report such information, and provided that the information is new, and that it results in the imposition of an administrative or criminal sanction, or the taking of another administrative measure, for an infringement of this Regulation.