The European Parliament will not wait for the Commission’s proposal on SLAPPs to take a position on the issue.
On Thursday 1 July, MEPs Tiemo Wölken (S&D, Germany) and Roberta Metsola (EPP, Malta) presented a draft report to the European Parliament committee detailing the legal instruments the EU could use to curb this phenomenon.
SLAPPs are defined in the report as lawsuits or legal actions (injunctions, freezing of assets, etc.) aimed at preventing the disclosure of fraudulent practices.
“They are not initiated for the purposes of obtaining a favourable judicial outcome but rather only to intimidate, harass, tire out, put psychological pressure on or consume the financial resources of journalists, academics, civil society and NGOs, with the ultimate objective of blackmailing and forcing them into silence”, the rapporteurs state.
Cross-border issues
The European Commission will present, by the end of the year, a text on the subject (see EUROPE 12689/22), the nature of which remains uncertain at this stage. Both rapporteurs advocate a binding proposal, in this case a directive, and hope that this report will keep the pressure on the Commission.
“In the past, the Commission has been reluctant to engage in this area, but Vice-President Věra Jourová has made it clear that she is ready to explore all possibilities” to develop a binding proposal, Roberta Metsola assured a press briefing.
However, it is at the Council level that the issue is likely to meet more resistance. “We are of course expecting some governments to push back”, she added.
The problem, however, is cross-border in nature, the two rapporteurs insist: in addition to the fact that it concerns the entire EU, it is not uncommon for victims of SLAPPs to be prosecuted in countries other than their own.
Legally binding European intervention would therefore establish harmonised standards of protection and avoid “libel tourism” or “forum shopping”.
Legal instruments available
They therefore call on the Commission to take the necessary legislative measures to develop judicial cooperation against cross-border SLAPPs and to ensure that defamation cannot be invoked for SLAPP purposes.
The report also includes a series of non-legislative recommendations, such as specific training for judges, an EU fund to provide financial support to victims and a public European register of court decisions on the subject.
The rapporteurs invite the Commission to analyse the good practices already in place in the US, Australia and Canada.
Their work was welcomed by most MEPs on Thursday and will continue with representatives of each political group in the coming months, before a committee vote in September.
To consult the report: https://bit.ly/363wWAh (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)