EU institutions reach deal on anti-SLAPP law protecting journalists & other critical voices

An agreement on the law was found in the early hours of Thursday.

Transcript

00:00 Slap. In the future we will hear this word more and more, which covers a complicated

00:06 phenomenon, strategic lawsuits against public participation. The victims of these are usually

00:13 journalists, employees of civil organizations and activists. The lawsuits are typically

00:19 initiated by large companies and politicians. Final position on the regulation proposed

00:25 by the European Commission has now been agreed upon by member states and the European Parliament.

00:29 Democracy cannot work without a free and independent media. This is why the Commission welcomes

00:36 the political agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council early this morning

00:43 at 2.30am on the new EU rules to protect those targeted with strategic lawsuits against public

00:50 participation or as we call them slaps. The purpose of such lawsuits is to dissuade the

00:56 sued person or entity from revealing connections and cases of suspected corruption in lengthy

01:01 proceedings. Last year 160 such cases were identified in the EU. The lead MEP on the

01:08 topic says he`s satisfied with the result.

01:12 Cross-border cases are covered by this new law and we offer a high level of protection

01:19 for journalists. They can claim also damages, for example, and there is an accelerated procedure

01:26 in cases of manifestly unfounded cases. So, the court proceeding can stop very quickly.

01:33 This will save a lot of money, a lot of resources and will help journalists in defending against

01:41 slap cases.

01:43 It`s important that member states will not recognize unfounded or abusive judgments made

01:47 outside the EU. The application of the new law must begin in two years` time.

01:54 (whooshing)