EC REPRESENTATIONS - Commission welcomes political agreement on countering abusive lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP)

The European Commission welcomes the provisional political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council today on new EU rules to protect those targeted with strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP), such as journalists, rights defenders or civil society organisations. As proposed by the Commission in April 2022, the Directive creates a system of powerful procedural safeguards for cross-border SLAPP cases. The existence of these safeguards will equip courts to deal with abusive litigation but will also deter potential claimants from engaging in such practices.

date: 21/12/2023

When the new Directive enters into force, for the first time there will be a binding European legal instrument against strategic lawsuits against public participation, following calls for such action from civil society after the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The new rules will include:

the early dismissal of manifestly unfounded claims; remedies against abusive court proceedings including the full award of costs and penalties or other appropriate measures;
protection against third country judgments which will not be recognised or enforced in the EU.

This Directive forms a package together with the Commission's horizontal Recommendation on anti-Slapp, which was adopted in 2022 and is already being implemented.