The Broadcasting Authority said Monday that the directive it issued regarding reporting on activities related to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola were to ensure a level playing field at a time when elections are approaching.

Without mentioning her name in its statement, the BA said that following reports related to the issue, it denies that it is in any way censoring any reporting about Metsola.

The BA said that its directive said that it allowed reporting of current affairs to continue to take place.

The directive says that “reporting or any information from the European Parliament or any report which has to do with the President of the European Parliament needs to be reported with caution. Any such reports should focus on the news value of the story and whether the issue is a current and topical one."

In reply, the PN said that what the BA is doing amounts to censoring because Metsola is a threat to the Labour Party in the June elections.

The BA says that it wants to keep a level playing field, but it does not apply a similar standard on ministers and the government at election time.

Instead of defending what is indefensible, the BA should immediately withdraw the directive,

The European Parliament Office in Malta has also made a similar request to the Broadcasting Authority, saying the directive is abusive.