Press freedom activists from Paris to New York have expressed concern over Sweden’s proposal to weaken a key EU law against corporate and political intimidation, reports EUObserver, as cited by Rador.

The European Commissioner for Values, Vera Jourova, and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metzola, promised to protect European journalists from malicious lawsuits.

Among other measures, their proposed new law would give judges special powers to dismiss “manifestly unfounded” complaints that are “strategic actions against public participation.” [SLAPP].

They are unofficially calling it “Daphne’s Law” after Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, killed in a car bomb in 2017, to emphasize its importance.

EU diplomats will discuss it behind closed doors in Brussels on March 15, hoping to reach an agreement by June, with the law coming into force in 2026 at the latest.

But the Swedish presidency of the EU has already removed “essential” provisions from the text of the law in order to promote understanding between the 27 members, which caused outrage from defenders of freedom of the press.

“Extreme Pressure on Critical Voices by the Rich and Powerful.”

Under a “compromise proposal”, which was also consulted by EUobserver and was made available to activist groups, Sweden removed special provisions on cross-border cases and softened the wording used for early rejection of cases.

“Daphne’s Law should cover cross-border cases and include effective protection against SLAPPs, including suspension of proceedings and early termination of SLAPPs, compensation for damages caused by defendants and fines for claimants who initiate SLAPPs,” the Daphne Caruana Galizi Foundation in Valletta told EUobserver.

“The repeal or weakening of these measures, as well as the repeal of the provisions on cross-border cases, deprives the directive of any meaning,” the Fund also said.

Reporters Without Borders, based in Paris, said: “It is important that the directive is applicable to as many cases as possible. For this, the concept of cases with cross-border effects, proposed by the Commission, is important.”

“It gives an opportunity […] you can include, for example, the case of pollution of a river that crosses several European countries,” said Julie Majerczak, a representative of the organization.

Sweden’s changes mean that “influential individuals and corporations will still be able to sue journalists in different jurisdictions, making it impossible for them to protect their work,” said Flutura Kusari of the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) in Leipzig. Germany.

Tom Gibson of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists also said, “The proliferation of SLAPPs in Europe has drawn attention to the enormous pressure on critical voices of the rich and powerful.”

“This text, [acum – n.trad.] compromise, it means that the EU countries want to work, and not to strengthen the legislation,” he noted.

The problem in Malta is so serious that in 2017, “literally before we could bury what was left of my deceased mother, we were back in court fighting one of the 40 or more lawsuits against her,” he said in October 2022, Daphne Matthew Caruana’s son. Galicia at the anti-SLAPP conference in Strasbourg.

“Today, the former Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat, is still accusing my dead mother in court. This is a surreal situation. It shocks me every time I say it,” he said at the time.

Moral degradation

But also such large newspapers as Gazeta Wyborcza in Poland, student journalists in Germany or environmental activists in France are among the recent victims of repression processes.

Sometimes the editorial office of Gazeta Wyborcza receives whole boxes of court documents related to more than 100 lawsuits filed against it by the ruling “Law and Justice” party in recent years, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Piotr Stasinski said in Strasbourg.

The pressure on them in terms of lost time, mental health and money risks making editors “pessimistic” or having a “chilling effect” on their work, Stasinski said.

In the last three years, EUobserver has had to participate in three SLAPP suits in Brussels, some of which involved cross-border elements related to Luxembourg and Belarus.

EUobserver is experiencing difficulties with financial assistance from the ECPMF, which is still awaiting further requests for assistance.

Citing a text redacted by Sweden, Yurova’s spokeswoman said: “We will not comment on each stage of the negotiations.”

“We will work with other institutions for swift adoption to effectively improve the protection of journalists and human rights defenders from brutal trials,” she added.

Sweden, which presides over the EU, has refused to publicly comment on the compromise proposal that was leaked to the press, reports EuObserver (Rador) Photo: Dreamstime