Brussels, 21/02/2023 (Agence Europe) – The EU commemorated, on Tuesday 21 February, the fifth anniversary of the murder of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his partner Martina Kušnírová (see EUROPE 11969/30). The event came 4 months after the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and was a “wake-up call”, according to Roberta Metsola (see EUROPE 12828/1). On Tuesday, the President of the European Parliament and various political groups renewed their commitment to protect journalists. On a visit to Slovakia to pay tribute to the journalist, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Věra Jourová, recalled the importance of the proposed directive to combat gagging procedures (SLAPPs) (see EUROPE 13081/18) and the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) (see EUROPE 13116/19). In parallel, a delegation of press freedom organisations, including the European Federation of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, also visited Bratislava. (HS)