Protecting media freedom from malicious lawsuits: press conference after EP vote

On Thursday, the co-rapporteurs of the Civil Liberties and Legal Affairs committees will present Parliament’s proposals to curb the use of legal actions to silence critical voices.

Roberta Metsola (EPP, MT) and Tiemo Wölken (S&D, DE) will hold a press conference on their report on “Strengthening Democracy and Media Freedom and Pluralism in the EU: the undue use of actions under civil and criminal law to silence journalists, NGOs and civil society”. Plenary will debate the text on Wednesday afternoon, and vote on it on Thursday around noon.

When: Thursday 11 November 2021, 14.00.

Where: European Parliament in Brussels, Anna Politkovskaya press conference room (0A50), Paul-Henri Spaak building, with physical and remote participation.

How: Accredited media representatives with an EU Digital COVID Certificate can enter Parliament. Journalists wishing to ask questions remotely need to connect via Interactio (https://broadcaster.interactio.eu/join/66e2-hy1p-1w4u). The press conference will also be webstreamed live and recorded on Parliament’s Multimedia Centre. Interpretation will be available to and from English, French, German and Maltese.

Background

Parliament has consistently called on the Commission to propose and apply several policies to safeguard media pluralism and journalists. The draft report, adopted by the Civil Liberties and Legal Affairs committees in October, proposes measures to counteract the threat that Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) pose to journalists, NGOs and civil society.

Updated COVID rules

As of 3 November, all people entering Parliament’s buildings, including journalists, have to present a valid EU Digital COVID Certificate. The EU Digital COVID Certificate proves that a person is either fully vaccinated, has immunity after having recovered from COVID-19 or can show a recent negative PCR test result. Both digital and paper formats of the EU Digital COVID Certificate or of a recognised equivalent certificate will be accepted.

A proof of a negative result of a PCR test carried out within the last 48 hours in Belgium, Luxembourg or France will also be accepted. Please note that the existing precautionary measures, including the compulsory wearing of a medical face mask and temperature checks at entrances, remain in place. More information here.