The Nationalist Party has stated that the government has only introduced anti-SLAPP laws into national legislation because it was "forced" by the European Union, rather than out of its desire to protect journalists.

This statement was published after Justice Minister Jonathan Attard and Prime Minister Robert Abela announced today, on Wednesday afternoon, that Malta has become the first EU country to transpose the EU's Anti-SLAPP Directive into national laws.

"It is evident to everyone that the Government is introducing this directive because it is forced by the European Union and not because it truly wants journalists to be protected," PN said.

The party in Opposition remarked that if the Government really had the desire to protect journalists, then it would have taken this step much sooner and more recommendations, that still remain on the shelf, would have been implemented.

PN's respective Shadow Ministers, Karol Aquilina and Claudette Buttigieg, spoke on behalf of the party in this written statement. The two were mainly critical that the Government took this step "after three years of dragging its feet on the numerous recommendations made by the Public Inquiry into the assassination of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia."

Aquilina and Buttigieg noted that this legal notice seems to conflict with several other already existing laws in the Maltese islands. On this, they established that "it is clear" that the Government "rushed" the Anti-SLAPP Directive's transposition into national laws.

The Nationalist Party further condemned the government for the level of protection given to journalists through this new legal notice and on the timing of this legal notice's publication.

After criticising Government for only giving journalists the lowest level of protection enshrined by this directive, the party commented that Justice Minister Attard "undoubtedly" published this legal notice today, during the summer period, in order to avoid this being discussed in Parliament and to avoid a national discussion commencing on this subject.

PN concluded this statement by remarking that rather than providing journalists with the minimum standards of protection by the Anti-SLAPP Directive, this legal notice should have served as an opportunity for Malta to serve as an example and offer the highest level of protection to journalists from "abuses of those who want to hide the truth."

The Nationalist Party will be conducting a detailed analysis into this legal notice while consulting with interested parties from the field. The party aims to take these steps before presenting its amendments to the legal notice "that the Minister boasted about today."