Malta perfect example of how not to transpose Daphne’s Law - Casa tells EU

The PN Head of Delegation in the European Parliament David Casa has written to the European Commission stating that the way that Daphne’s law was introduced into Maltese domestic legislation should be a case study of how not to do it. 

“The directive could only go so far, that is why it was accompanied by a Commission recommendation which should have also been incorporated into national legislation at the time of transposition. Being first and doing it badly is no great accomplishment. It should rather serve as a worst practice that other member states should be encouraged avoid”, claimed the Maltese MEP.

In 2022, the European Commission issued its proposal for a directive which was limited in its scope due the treaties requiring a cross-border element in order to provide the EU with a legal basis on which to propose legislation. The limitations of the proposed legislation were compensated for with a Recommendation which member states are encouraged to include when transposing. This beefs up the provisions of the directive to also protect against purely domestic cases of SLAPP. 

“As the Maltese government transposed the law they ‘ve protected foreign journalists more than then they protected our own Maltese media houses. In fact, Daphne’s Law as transposed in Malta would not have helped Daphne Caruana Galizia at all. Perhaps that is not surprising in view of the disdain the current government has for journalism in general. To add insult to injury rather than apologise for the rushed, botched transposition they are boasting about it”, concluded the MEP. 

Casa was among the first politicians to call for EU legislation to combat abusive legal practices targeting journalists known as SLAPP. He campaigned for the introduction of this law from 2017 till the directive became EU law last year.