Nationalist MEP Robert Metsola has been appointed to lead EU Anti-SLAPP efforts, together with S&D MEP Tiemo Wölken.

“We want this to be a cross-party effort to support journalism and the truth-seekers,” she said in a Facebook post.

SLAPP cases are filed against newspapers and journalists in a bid to censor, intimidate, and silence them by burdening them with the cost of a legal defence until they abandon their criticism or opposition.

This is for Daphne Caruana Galizia who was killed with more than 40 cases pending against her and with her assets frozen, Metsola added.

“This is for her family who have to endure defending her in all those cases that were refused to be dropped even after her assassination. This is for every media house, every journalist, every blogger and every NGO that have been threatened by crooked politicians, dodgy banks, corrupt corporations and those criminals with everything to lose.”