In favor of the proposed European directive according to which journalists, media, human rights defenders, activists, researchers and artists in the EU will be protected from “strategic lawsuits against public participation”, also known as “SLAPPs” (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), which aim to intimidate and harm them, the Plenary of the European Parliament ordered during its meeting today in Strasbourg.

With 498 votes in favour, 33 against and 105 abstentions, MEPs approved the European Parliament’s negotiating position for the upcoming negotiations with the Council of the EU on new rules to protect those working on matters of public interest, such as fundamental rights, activities of public officials and allegations of corruption. The EU Council has already reached its own negotiating position last month. Negotiations between the two European institutions are expected to begin tomorrow afternoon.

Cross-border application and protection guarantees

So once the new rules are approved, they will apply to cases of a cross-border nature, i.e. when the defendant, the claimant and the court are not based in the same country or when the subject matter of the case (regardless of whether it is a press article, social media post, video, research or artwork) concerns more than one Member State and is accessible online.

The proposal for a directive provides for protection procedures for those who are the target of such lawsuits, giving them, for example, the possibility to request that the lawsuit be dismissed at an early stage. It is also provided that the plaintiff will be the one who will have to prove that his action is not without merit.

Additionally, where a lawsuit is found to be abusive, the plaintiff will be required to pay all legal costs, including the defendant’s legal representation, and may also be subject to court sanctions. At the same time, victims of such lawsuits will be able to seek compensation, for example, for psychological harm or defamation.

According to the briefing note issued by the European Parliament, “to limit the phenomenon of plaintiffs choosing to appeal to courts that are more likely to find in their favor, defamation cases will only be able to be heard in courts of the defendant’s country.” and “when such actions involve natural or legal persons based in the EU, but tried in countries outside the EU, Member States should not recognize the relevant decisions of the courts, while at the same time they should allow the victims of these lawsuits to seek compensation from national courts’.

Assistance and training at Member State level

The MEPs also call for the establishment in all member states of “special services to which those faced with lawsuits of this kind can turn in order to receive information and advice” and call on the authorities of the member states “to provide financial, legal and psychological assistance to victims of abusive lawsuits”.

EU member states are also called upon to “ensure that legal professionals receive adequate training in handling abusive claims” and that “their professional associations adopt rules that discourage their members from taking abusive claims” .

Finally, the MEPs ask member states to “collect data on abusive lawsuits, in particular with regard to the decisions taken by the courts”, and call on the European Commission “to set up an EU register in which all relevant data will be gathered” .

Metsola: “Journalism takes courage, but journalists should not be forced to be brave to practice it”

“Journalism takes courage, but journalists should not be forced to be brave to practice it,” European Parliament President Roberta Metzola said in a statement, adding: “The European Parliament will always protect those who seek the truth and will defend our democratic right to be informed. When lives and livelihoods are threatened by frivolous lawsuits, when our justice systems are abused, we must respond by legislating. With today’s bill, which was strongly supported by the plenary, that is exactly what we are doing.”

Timo Welken: “Our courts cannot be an arena for the rich and powerful.”

For his part, the rapporteur of the relevant report, German MEP Timo Welken of the Social Democrats, said after the vote that “abusive lawsuits discourage opposing voices from bringing to light issues of public interest” and that “journalists and activists they are a cornerstone of our democracies and should be able to carry out their work without being intimidated.” He stressed that “with this directive we seek to ensure that they will be protected throughout the EU, that victims will receive financial and psychological support and that there will be a broader definition of cross-border cases” as, as he said, “our courts cannot be field of action for the rich and powerful”.

As recalled in the briefing note “the European Parliament has repeatedly advocated strengthening media freedom” and “taking into account the ever-increasing number of SLAPPs, it has adopted numerous resolutions denouncing attacks on journalists and human rights defenders and asks for their protection to be strengthened.” It is also noted that “according to the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE), 2020 saw a record number of such cases in Europe, with their total number reaching 114”.

The President of the European Parliament and the rapporteur will hold a press conference on the matter tomorrow, Wednesday.