European Parliament President Antonio Tajani  has said that “half a billion Europeans will not accept a journalist being assassinated,” and reiterated his desire to find out who the killers were, and who had sent them, when speaking at the ceremony renaming the press room at the European Parliament in Starsbourg after assassaniated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

“She was brutally assassinated, because she courageously, fearlessly, carried out her job as a journalist.”

The renaming of the press conference was symbolic because people will be constantly reminded to never lower their guard when it comes to freedom of expression and the press.

“Half a billion Europeans will not expect a journalist being assassinated,” Tajani said.

He praised her family for their bravery and determination to continue on looking for the truth.

“We are not afraid of anyone who wants to restrict freedom, of anyone who wants to suffocate the free press, to undermine democracy,” Tajani, a journalist himself, said while stressing that profession is vital in maintaining freedom.

Peter Caruana Galizia, the husband of the slain journalist, gave a moving speech in memory of his wife, calling her an extraordinary woman who only the powerful were fearful of.

“When legal threats proved ineffective, only one solution was left. To say she was brave is true, but it has little value without a sense of justice and outrage.”

He said that Caruana Galizia’s investigative work lead her to learn about Malta’s underworld and its insidious link to politics.

“She never grew cynical, she only grew more appalled; and the more frustrated she got, the more beautiful our garden grew,” he said referencing her less-known aesthetic talents.

“Daphne created a parallel world of beauty in a country that has slipped further away from european values.”

He went on to mention the 47 libel cases she faced at the time of her death, 36 of which will still continue.

He then praised his three sons, for possessing the same strength and integrity as their mother.

Christoph de Loir, from reporters without borders, said that Caruana Galizia’s name will now be synonym with the freedom of the press and bravery.

“Journalism is about speaking the truth, sometimes the inconvenient truth,” de Loir said while praising its ability to enact serious changes within countries.

“Her death will leave a scar on both journalists and citizens”

Speaking on Malta, he said that press law needed to be revised, called on the EU to further press freedom across the continent and ensure that justice for the murder is served.