At the same time, the range is widening with the advent of the Vega launch vehicle planned for 2006 and the introduction, likewise envisaged for 2006, of the Russian Soyuz launcher at the Guyanese space centre.

whereas the current Union-wide legal framework to protect whistleblowers is insufficient, and there exists significant variation between the ways in which different Member States provide protection for whistleblowers; whereas in the absence of such protection, those employees who hold vital information will understandably be reluctant to come forward and therefore that information will not be made available; whereas since whistleblowers helped to mobilise public attention on the issue of unfair taxation, Member States should consider measures that will protect such activity; whereas it would therefore be appropriate to offer Union-wid ...[+++]e protection for whistleblowers who report suspected misconduct, wrongdoing, fraud or illegal activity to national or European authorities or, in cases of persistently unaddressed misconduct, wrongdoing, fraud or illegal activity that could affect the public interest, to the public as a whole; whereas such protection should be coherent with the overall legal system; whereas this protection should be effective against unjustified legal prosecutions, economic sanctions and discriminations;

145. Calls on the Commission to consider a range of tools for ensuring such protection against unjustified legal prosecution, economic sanctions and discrimination, while also ensuring the protection of confidentiality and trade secrets; draws attention, in this connection, to the example of the US Dodd-Frank Act, which both remunerates whistleblowers for providing the authorities with original information and protects them from legal prosecution and job loss, bearing in mind that such remuneration should not be a stimulus for publishing business-sensitive information; proposes the creation of an independent European body responsible f ...[+++]or collecting this information and carrying out investigations, as well as a pan-European whistleblower common fund, to ensure that whistleblowers receive adequate financial assistance, both funded through a levy on a proportion of the funds recovered or fines imposed; takes the view that protection should also be granted to whistleblowers in case they inform the public after the competent authorities at national or EU level were notified, after no reaction within one month;

143. Calls on the Commission to consider a range of tools for ensuring such protection against unjustified legal prosecution, economic sanctions and discrimination, while also ensuring the protection of confidentiality and trade secrets; draws attention, in this connection, to the example of the US Dodd-Frank Act, which both remunerates whistleblowers for providing the authorities with original information and protects them from legal prosecution and job loss, bearing in mind that such remuneration should not be a stimulus for publishing business-sensitive information; proposes the creation of an independent European body responsible f ...[+++]or collecting this information and carrying out investigations, as well as a pan-European whistleblower common fund, to ensure that whistleblowers receive adequate financial assistance, both funded through a levy on a proportion of the funds recovered or fines imposed; takes the view that protection should also be granted to whistleblowers in case they inform the public after the competent authorities at national or EU level were notified, after no reaction within one month;

88. Draws attention to the plight of whistleblowers and their supporters, including journalists following their revelations; calls on the Commission to conduct an examination as to whether a future legislative proposal establishing an effective and comprehensive European whistleblower protection programme, as already requested in Parliament’s resolution of 23 October 2013, should also include other fields of Union competence, with particular attention to the complexity of whistleblowing in the field of intelligence; calls on the Member States to thoroughly examine the possibility of granting whistleblowers international protection from ...[+++] prosecution;

15. Calls on the Member States, in cases where labour inspectors uncover abuse, or when whistleblowers bring cases of abuse to the attention of labour inspectors, to protect the workers concerned as well as any whistleblowers involved, and to enable them to assert their rights at no cost; points out that measures to that end, such as a direct or collective right of complaint, are effective means of protecting persons affected and whistleblowers; calls on the Member States to adopt measures to protect whistleblowers and their families in order to facilitate the detection of abuse; stresses that it is important that migrant workers in a ...[+++]n irregular situation are protected and that this should be one of the areas of concern; reminds the Member States, in this context, of the ILO Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention (No. 143) from 1975;