1998 Whistleblowing
His whistleblowing on 9 December 1998 indirectly led to the resignation of the Commission presided by Jacques Santer (who has also been prime minister of Luxembourg) and the fall of Edith Cresson. For this, he was suspended, had his salary halved and ordered to face disciplinary action. He fought on and the combination of his exposures with the public indignation of his treatment by the Commission triggered the collapse of Jacques Santer's Commission, of which Edith Cresson was particularly criticised.
Eventually he was - at least partially - forgiven and returned to the organisation, albeit in a different capacity. Nevertheless, he would later leave on 'unpaid leave' in order to pursue a political career.
He has been named 'European of the Year' by Reader's Digest magazine and the Australian Broadcasting Commission. He donated his prize money to a fund in the Netherlands for helping other whistleblowers and in 1999 he wrote a book which reveals the whole story - followed by a sequel in 2004. The second book only came out in Dutch and German. An English version risked causing trouble with Commissioner Neil Kinnock.
Read more about this topic: Paul Van Buitenen