The European Parliament recently voted with a very strong majority in favour of an EU directive aimed at protecting journalists, activists, academics, artists, and researchers from SLAPPs –  an important step for Daphne’s Law to become a reality.

Following the vote, the President of the European Parliament and Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola stated, “I am proud of this Parliament’s tenacity. Because if it was not for the European Parliament, we would not even have a proposal for the SLAPP directive.”

The European Commission’s proposal for a directive follow up on Parliament’s own initiative report presented in 2021.

As First Vice-President, the Maltese MEP spearheaded Parliament’s initiative for EU-wide rules against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).

She led efforts together with German S&D MEP Tiemo Wölken and presented a report aimed at getting a wide-reaching agreement to prevent SLAPP suits across the bloc, in what was described as a water-shed moment for journalism in Europe.

The President said that the ability for journalists to report freely on issues that are a matter of public interest is not just important, but essential, to the values that underpin our Union, such as equality, democracy and the rule of law.

“In these cases, claimants use their wealth to deter scrutiny. They aim to financially and emotionally drain their targets, forcing journalists to self-censor and producing a chilling effect on the reporting of abuses. Essentially, their one and only goal is to silence.”