2026 European Whistleblowing Conference explores AI, national security, and the rule of law
28 October 2026
The European Whistleblowing Conference: Whistleblowing in the AI Era took place in Brussels, Belgium, on 20 October 2026, bringing together policymakers, regulators, legal practitioners, compliance and integrity professionals, academics, civil society representatives, journalists and whistleblowers to examine the evolving challenges facing whistleblower protection across Europe and beyond.
This year’s conference explored the increasingly complex relationship between artificial intelligence, national security and the rule of law. Discussions connected emerging legal and policy developments with the practical realities of protecting whistleblowers, maintaining independent oversight and ensuring that concerns raised in the public interest can be heard and acted upon.
Bringing together leading expertise
The first panel examined the implications of artificial intelligence for whistleblowing, including what it means to be an AI whistleblower and how AI is changing the landscape for those who expose wrongdoing. Perspectives from the EU AI Office, a national authority, and a lawyer working with AI whistleblowers highlighted the emerging questions facing regulators and legal practitioners.
The second panel addressed how geopolitics and national security are shaping whistleblowing, particularly in times of war, as a Ukrainian representative shared first-hand how the country continues to build and maintain robust whistleblowing systems while facing an unjust war.
The third panel looked at how global challenges to the rule of law affect whistleblowing, including when governments seek to dismantle independent whistleblower authorities, with contributions from representatives from national authorities and lawyers defending whistleblowers.
The fourth panel turned to organizational culture, exploring why legislation alone cannot guarantee effective whistleblower protection. Drawing on the European Commission’s experience of harmonizing whistleblowing frameworks across Europe, alongside insights from national authorities and organizational culture specialists, the discussion examined the conditions that enable people to speak up and organizations to respond effectively.
Strengthening the professional community for whistleblower protection
Effective whistleblower protection depends on collaboration among the legal, regulatory, and operational communities responsible for putting it into practice. The conference provided a forum for these communities to exchange perspectives on the challenges facing whistleblower protection and the institutions that support it. As Dr Vigjilenca Abazi, EWI’s Executive Director, said during her opening address: “This community matters, because whistleblowing depends on an entire system: people who are prepared to speak up, institutions that are prepared to listen, and authorities that have the independence and capacity to act”.
The second edition of the European Whistleblowing Conference was organized by the European Whistleblowing Institute in collaboration with The AI Whistleblower Initiative (AIWI), the Centre of European Law at King's College London, The University of Göttingen, the Whistleblowing International Network (WIN), NEIWA (Network of European Integrity and Whistleblowing Authorities), and the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe).
Join the conversation in 2027
The European Whistleblowing Conference will return in 2027, bringing together legal counsel, compliance and integrity leaders, investigations professionals, whistleblowing program managers, service providers, and representatives of national authorities.
The next edition will focus on the legal, regulatory and operational challenges shaping whistleblowing practice, including investigative independence, third-party oversight, case management, regulatory expectations and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
For those advising on, overseeing, or managing whistleblowing systems, the challenge is not simply to meet legal requirements, but to ensure that those systems actually work in practice. The 2027 conference will bring together the leading voices and perspectives needed to address that challenge.
