Towards an EU Directive on anti-SLAPP measures

European Parliament First Vice-President Roberta Metsola is determined to safeguard the fourth pillar of our democracy and end the abuse of our judicial systems

Today, the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved an own initiative report that proposes new and concrete measures to protect journalists from abusive lawsuits filed to silence them.

This process, spearheaded by MEP Roberta Metsola (EPP, LIBE Committee) along with MEP Tiemo Wölken (S&D, JURI Committee), represents a cross-group, cross-committee political momentum in the European Parliament as it aims to stop the so-called SLAPP lawsuits across Europe.

Vice-President Metsola said, “We are determined to end SLAPPs and our report provides Europe with a blueprint to shield journalists, safeguard freedom of expression and uphold our right to know.”

MEP Metsola added that this report was drafted after she carried out consultations with journalists and NGOs amongst others, some of which having faced SLAPP cases themselves. “Journalism should not come with a health warning or risk of financial ruin at the hands of crooks. Those who abuse our legal systems - often through forum shopping across borders - to try to silence journalists, should find no protection in our Europe. This cross-party, cross-committee report aims to boost our legislative armoury.” Vice-President Metsola pointed out that the report is ambitious but also legally realistic.”

The co-rapporteur reiterated, “This report is for Daphne Caruana Galizia who was killed with 42 cases pending against her. It is for every media house, every journalist, every blogger and every NGO that were and are still being threatened by crooks who have everything to lose. The European Union must be a safe haven for all of them and we need to make sure that there is no place for criminals to abuse of our systems and ourselves.”

“Today’s vote in plenary gives the European Commission ample time to consider and include the European Parliament's recommendations within its anti-SLAPP proposals at the beginning of next year,” stated Vice-President Metsola.

What is proposed in the report?

The European Parliament is calling for a Directive that covers both domestic and cross border SLAPP cases, within the boundaries of the competences enshrined in the EU treaties.

The report proposes that there should be:

- Legally expedient ways to dismiss SLAPP suits

- Penalties for people who abuse of the legal systems by instituting SLAPP cases

- There should be a fund for journalists to fight SLAPP cases (inc. to cover legal fees)

- Training for judges and lawyers to identify cases of SLAPP

- An initiative to support victims of SLAPP (inc. via an online portal that serves as a one-stop-shop to assist victims of SLAPP)

- A revision of existing legislation in order to reduce forum shopping or ‘libel tourism’.

What are SLAPPs?

SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation) have become an increasingly growing phenomenon around Europe, mostly having a cross-border nature. They rarely have a legitimate claim and they are barely geared towards obtaining a favourable judicial outcome, resulting in an abuse of our judicial systems. Instead, they have the specific aim of silencing the defendant by subjecting the person to lengthy, burdensome and expensive lawsuits, often in another jurisdiction.

SLAPPs, which are vexatious in nature, create an imbalance between parties and have a chilling effect on freedom of expression, resulting in impinging on the respondent’s right to a fair trial.

What’s next?

On 4 October 2021, the European Commission launched a public consultation on EU action against abusive litigation targeting journalists and rights defenders. The Commission plans to adopt a proposal in Q2 2022. The Commission’s roadmap talks about developing a “combination of legislative and non-legislative measures” to deal with this increasingly widespread form of harassment, of which journalists and rights defenders are the main victims.

The Commission plans to present a recommendation that would focus more on awareness-raising and training for professionals dealing with SLAPPs, but also on support and follow-up for victims. It also intends to develop a draft directive to intervene against SLAPPs in cross-border situations.

The consultation period is open until 10 January 2022.