Press conference following the debate and the vote on the package of proposals to counteract the threat that Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) pose to journalists, NGOs and civil society by Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), and Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), co-rapporteurs. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Brussels

press conference

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

freedom of press and media (T)

WÖLKEN, Tiemo (S&D, DE)

Press conference by Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), and Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), co-rapporteurs, on strengthening democracy, media freedom and pluralism in the EU: the undue use of SLAPPs

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur Thank you so much. Thank you all for coming today. I think I can say today it was a very proud moment for me to see Tiemo and my report, voted with such a large majority in plenary. Our cooperation, both across different committees and different political families, has been excellent and I really want to thank you, Tiemo, especially for all the work on this file.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur The European Parliament has long been asking for legislation to combat, as we've just heard, Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation known as SLAPPs. We have been doing this since 2017 and today we see a strong and united European Parliament on this. So this institution is sending a clear message.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur I think the clearest of messages that we stand behind a Europe that not only believes in, but fights to guarantee the freedom of the press and the protection of journalists. So here we now have a blueprint for how we can guarantee a safe place for journalists to do their job.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur SLAPPs are lawsuits that seek to muzzle our journalists and provide a chilling effect on public participation, and trends have shown an increase of these kinds of lawsuits within the past two years. And we need to be clear, this report is not about people not being able to protect their reputation.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur This is about fighting abuse of our systems. And this report is all about those journalists and those activists that are facing a number of vexatious lawsuits in legal systems they are unaware of and have no connexion with. Lawsuits filed with the aim of silencing them, not winning a case.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur So I am proud that the European Parliament managed to achieve this balance in the report because the SLAPP strategy is simple but effective, with criminals literally shopping around our jurisdictions, scouting favourable laws to serve their purposes. This Strategy forces their target to make the difficult decision of whether it is emotionally and financially worth reporting.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur The facts and Tiemo and I heard from countless journalists, NGOs, activists, academics and experts about the pressures they face. In some member states, lawsuits are filed against them in their personal capacity, meaning that even if they leave their job with a media house, the case could still follow them around after they leave.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur So the European Parliament is now calling for a new EU anti-SLAPP legislation, which lays down minimum common safeguards a directive. This legislation should include measures for early dismissal of SLAPP suits, provisions for damages, court costs, shifting, sanctioning and other penalties, such as civil and administrative fines. The report is ambitious and lays down as many safeguards as necessary to protect our journalists and civil society from SLAPP suits. And it does so while remaining within what is possible under the EU treaties.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur The report also calls for a revision of two private international law instruments so as to bring to an end to libel tourism and guarantee legal certainty as to which laws apply in cross-border cases of defamation. Now, while legislation is, of course, important we also put forward complimentary soft law measures, and this means investing in training our judges to be able to identify these kinds of cases.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur Creating a fund to help SLAPP victims with the financial burden of these lawsuits, and launching an online hub to help targets of SLAPPs receive the information and support that they are looking for.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur I want to conclude by thanking everyone that contributed so extensively to the drafting and the adoption of this important report, especially, of course, as I said, my colleague Tiemo and all our advisors. The ball is now in the European Commission courts, and I want to say that I am grateful from the commitment shown by Vice-President Jourova on this issue, and I am hopeful that we will see concrete legislation proposed soon. So I now look forward to hearing from Tiemo and receiving and answering all the questions that you might have. Thanks.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur So from my side, thank you very much to you, but for the very close and successful cooperation in the end. I'm also very happy that we secured a very large majority today. I think 404 votes in favour of this report, sends a clear message to the European Commission to come forward.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur This is an ambitious piece of legislation. Unfortunately, Roberta and I saw journalists and activists and civil society organisation representatives are being the victims of these SLAPP suits that simply aim to silence critical voices.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur I can say, quite honestly, that when we started work on this, I wasn't aware how much of a problem it really is and that there are cases in every member state. The problem with this SLAPP suits is that the courts that have been created with legitimate purposes are being used and abused to silence people.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur I would like to thank Commissioner Jourova in the current commission report on rule of law, she picked up on that problem of SLAPP suits, saying that it's not just a problem in a few member states, there's a systematic problem.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur So it's the right time that we, as the European legislator, get down to work on this. And I very much hope that the Commission will take this clear signal from the European Parliament and understand that on the one hand, we want legislative action, but at the same time, we want soft law instruments as well in order to protect and support the victims of SLAPPs.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur It's a very well balanced text. It says, on the one hand, that SLAPP suits need to be put in the focus, and then on the other hand, it says that we need to support the victims victims.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur So what do we want quite concretely? Well, first of all, we want international private law to be adapted because it opens up the door to forum shopping. So the defendants can be taken to court in other countries. And that increases the problem because people don't necessarily know the legal systems of other countries.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur We want a directive with common minimum standards, a common definition of SLAPP suits, and above all, we need a reversal of the burden of proof. So someone bringing a SLAPP claim has to demonstrate that it's not a SLAPP claim and that protects the victims and that it's more than necessary in order to establish equality.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur And finally, SLAPP suits are numerous. But not well known everywhere. And that particularly goes for lawyers, judges. Who are perhaps not that familiar with this kind of suit, they probably haven't seen them very often and they don't have that sensitivity. So we want to have a kind of campaign and awareness building campaign amongst legal professionals to draw attention to the problem.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur Overall, I'm very happy with our decision. We have a broad scope of application and I really hope that the European Commission will follow our report and I would like to thank Roberta Metsola once again and also all of our staff and all of those in the European Parliament who have helped us to work on this very ambitious report. Many thank you. Thanks to you also for your attention.

Q & A Question concerning the types of provisions that could be put in place to defend against lawsuits which are filed outside the EU.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur Answer commenting on how the forthcoming legislation will try to fill gaps and problems by building on the experiences of other countries, such as the UK, Australia, Canada and the US. As a result, the legislation will be also tailored to tackle effectevely cross border matters.

Q & A Question regarding the possible upcoming candidature of Roberta METSOLA to the Presidency of the European Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur Answer discussing how the selection process within the EPP works, and how the potential candidature could be announced in the upcoming months.

Q & A Question on the potential legal challenges that SLAPP directive will face in the upcoming months.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur Answer explaining which relavant articles and European Treaties will be used in the upcoming to strenght the anti SLAPP directive. Particuar importace will be given to the safeguard of defandants, in order to avoid that victims of SLAPPs suits are persecuted in a jurisdiction they are not familiar with.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur Answer that expands the previous statement by explaing how the upcoming SLAPP directive will have to face complex legal and political challenges. Nonetheless, it is stated that the Parliament will engage with other institutions and member states in order to plug the existing gaps on SLAPP cases acroos Europe.

Q & A Question concerning the expected measures that member states will take in the upcoming months after the release of the SLAPP directive.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur Answer explaining how European institutions are already starting to pressure member states in order to limit the influence of SLAPPs. Furthermore, it is presented the strategy that the Parliament is seeking to adopt in order to speed up the approval of the SLAPP directive.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur Question commenting the fact that SLAPPs are a recognized and widespread problem within different member states and, therefore, hopefully there would not be resistance in implementing anti SLAPP measures.

Q & A Question on the measures that will eventually be put in place by EU institutions in case member states decide to not comply with the SLAPP directive.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), Co-rapporteur Answer explaining what legislative measures can be adopted in case that member state decide to not comply with directives.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Co-rapporteur Answer explaining how difficulties and resistance are will be avoided by creating a directive with a wide political spectrum in order to make more encompassing and appealing as possible for member states.