On the 1 January, Sweden took over the rotating Presidency of the EU Council for the next six months. As far as the media are concerned, two major legislative proposals are likely to occupy it: the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and the anti-SLAPPs Directive, both of which are important as they are thorny.
Regarding EMFA, the Swedish Presidency is vague in its programme, assuring only that it will “advance the work on the proposal” and that “independent and strong media and cultural sectors are crucial elements of a vibrant and resilient democracy”. In its provisional timetable, however, it says it hopes to “possibly” reach a political agreement at the ‘Education, Youth, Culture and Sport’ Council of the EU in May 2023, although this will be difficult to negotiate in such a short timeframe as some Member States are still reluctant to introduce EU legislation in this area (see EUROPE 13073/25).
The same applies to the proposed “anti-SLAPPs” Directive. Sweden assures that it will “continue the work on a proposal designed to strengthen the protection of journalists and other media professionals participating in the public debate against baseless legal proceedings and abusive litigation” and hopes to reach a political agreement at the EU ‘Justice’ Council in June 2023. Here too, however, the text is far from unanimous among the Member States. At the heart of the debate is the balance between protection of SLAPP targets and access to justice (see EUROPE 13081/18).
Finally, while Sweden is still in third place in the Reporters Without Borders 2022 edition of the World Press Freedom Index, there are concerns about the future direction of the new national government, which is associated with the far right.
To read the work programme: https://aeur.eu/f/4p5
To see the provisional calendar: https://aeur.eu/f/4so (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)