Skip to content
DRAFT OPINION (COM(2022)0177 – C90161/2022 – 2022/0117(COD))

On the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded or abusive court proceedings (“Strategic lawsuits against public participation”)

CULT-PA-742481

Committee on Culture and Education · Rapporteur: Alexis Georgoulis

Official HTML ↗ PDF DOCX
✦ In shortFull text
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 26 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

The Committee on Culture and Education's rapporteur drafts amendments to the proposed directive protecting people from abusive lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). He proposes removing the divide between 'manifestly unfounded' and 'abusive' proceedings, so all abusive lawsuits get early dismissal, costs security, damages and penalties. He widens the scope to any natural or legal person engaging in public participation, including civil society, trade unions, researchers, artists, whistleblowers and publishers. He adds artistic, cultural, research and scientific activities and the digital environment to the definition of public participation, and links it to freedom of association, assembly, arts and science. He wants the directive to cover pending cases, civil claims in criminal proceedings, and cross-border cases, and to place the burden of proof on the claimant. He also proposes education, awareness raising and a review of deontological standards for legal professionals.

Committee position. The rapporteur welcomes the Commission proposal and proposes amendments to clarify terminology, definitions and scope, to remove the divide between 'manifestly unfounded' and 'abusive' proceedings, to broaden the personal and material scope, and to strengthen safeguards for targets of SLAPPs.

Key points

  1. The rapporteur proposes to remove the divide between 'manifestly unfounded' and 'abusive' proceedings, so all abusive lawsuits are subject to early dismissal, costs security, damages and sanctions.
  2. He proposes the catch-all term 'abusive lawsuits against public participation' while keeping the abbreviation 'SLAPP'.
  3. The directive's personal scope should extend to any natural or legal person engaging directly or indirectly in public participation, including civil society, non-governmental organisations, trade unions, researchers, scientists, academics, artists, whistleblowers and publishers.
  4. The rapporteur adds a reference to the gender-based rise of SLAPPs and broadens third-party legal interventions to include professional associations.
  5. The directive should apply to pending cases and to civil claims brought in criminal proceedings, while administrative matters are to be narrowly interpreted.
  6. Public participation should include artistic, cultural, research and scientific activities and the digital environment, and be anchored to freedom of association, assembly, arts and science.
  7. A rights-based notion of 'matter of public interest' should cover large-scale violations of working conditions or human rights in supply chains, in line with the Whistle-blower Protection Directive.
  8. The rapporteur proposes a broad interpretation of 'cross-border' cases based on relevance to a matter of public interest, to strengthen safeguards against forum shopping and SLAPPs from third countries.
  9. The claimant should have to establish a 'prima facie' case on each essential element of the cause of action, replacing the 'manifestly unfounded' threshold.
  10. Member States should ensure education, awareness raising and a review of deontological standards for legal professionals to discourage abusive lawsuits.
  11. Courts should be able to order the claimant to bear all costs, including full legal representation costs, and to award full compensation for material and immaterial harm.
  12. Courts should be able to impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties on the party who brought the abusive lawsuit, quantified with regard to the claim amount and the claimant's financial situation.

Who is affected

  • Journalists, human rights defenders and other persons engaging in public participation, who gain broader protection from abusive lawsuits.
  • Civil society, non-governmental organisations, trade unions, researchers, academics, artists, whistleblowers and publishers, explicitly named as potential targets.
  • Women, LGBTIQ and gender rights defenders, who should receive the highest possible protection as gender-based SLAPP victims.
  • Legal professionals, whose deontological rules and disciplinary sanctions should discourage abusive lawsuits.
  • Member States, which must transpose the directive and provide safeguards, legal assistance and data on media freedom and SLAPPs.

Figures and deadlines

  • 27 April 2022: date the European Commission published its legislative proposal for the directive.
  • 2020-2024: period of the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy cited on safeguards for journalists.
  • 2020-2025: period of the EU Strategy on victims' rights and the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy cited on gender-based SLAPP victims.
  • 2021-2030: period of the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities cited on gender-based SLAPP victims.
  • 2021-2027: period of the Digital Education Action Plan cited on media literacy and education.
  • 2023: the European Year of Skills cited on education and training.