Monday

27th Mar 2023

EU ministers clash on media libel and defamation rules

  • The media has up a fight against proposed new libel and defamation rules (Photo: Luxembourg EU Presidency)

EU justice ministers have agreed to halt far-reaching plans to establish common EU rules on cross-border disputes, following fears that parts of the law would violate freedom of expression.

The proposed law aims to define which national law applies in disputes where individuals or companies from different countries are involved, including non-EU member states.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

However, ministers meeting in Brussels on Tuesday (21 February) decided to postpone the law after it became clear that unanimous agreement would not be possible.

"In the future we need rules in this area, but we need time to come up with a more sensible proposal," justice commissioner Franco Frattini.

According to the proposal tabled by the commission, the law in the country in which the alleged damage occurred would bear the law.

Damages concerning, for example, a traffic accident would be heard in the country where the accident took place, with the possibility of bringing the dispute to the victim’s home country if both parties agree.

The commission argues that that this common principle would prevent "shopping" for the most favourable legislation in cross-border disputes.

Media law

But Austrian justice minister Karin Gastinger said that EU ministers had failed to agree on this principle being applied to national liability laws for the media, dealing with defamation of private citizens, public figures or religious icons in the press.

A scenario emerged that journalists of a particular member state could be condemned for libelling or defamating an individual or a company according to laws applicable in another country, even one outside the EU.

This has been met with fierce resistance.

Media organisations, NGOs and politicians warned of damage to the principle of freedom of speech, arguing that a Swedish newspaper, for instance, could be sentenced according to Syrian or Pakistani law following a law suit on defamation from a citizen in either of these countries.

Critics also pointed out that an inconvenient practical consequence of the commission proposal would be that media in one country would be obliged to have knowledge of all other countries' media laws - which would be impossible to oversee.

Representatives from various media organisations across the EU have lobbied to have defamation and libel cases ruled according to the editors' home country.

Revised version

Mr Frattini said he would soon propose a revised version of the regulation, with the article on media freedom excluded from the package.

"If we retained it, it would mean a very long delay, and we are making a lot of progress on other areas," he said.

He added that the issue would not be swept under the carpet, only that it needed more time.

Exclusive

Sweden waters down EU press-freedom law

Press-freedom groups from Paris to New York have voiced dismay at Sweden's proposal to weaken a landmark EU law against corporate and political bullies.

Top EU prosecutor wants elite corps of specialised investigators

Europe's top prosecutor Laura Kovesi wants to create an elite corps of highly-specialised financial fraud investigators. The demand came in Kovesi's introduction to the annual report published by the Luxembourg-based European Public Prosector's Office.

Opinion

Why can't we stop marches glorifying Nazism on EU streets?

Every year, neo-Nazis come together to pay tribute to Nazi war criminals and their collaborators, from Benito Mussolini to Rudolf Hess, Ante Pavelić, Hristo Lukov, and of course Adolf Hitler, in events that have become rituals on the extreme-right calendar.

Latest News

  1. Biden's 'democracy summit' poses questions for EU identity
  2. Finnish elections and Hungary's Nato vote in focus This WEEK
  3. EU's new critical raw materials act could be a recipe for conflict
  4. Okay, alright, AI might be useful after all
  5. Von der Leyen pledges to help return Ukrainian children
  6. EU leaders agree 1m artillery shells for Ukraine
  7. Polish abortion rights activist vows to appeal case
  8. How German business interests have shaped EU climate agenda

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality
  5. Promote UkraineInvitation to the National Demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine on 25.02.2023
  6. Azerbaijan Embassy9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 1st Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us