EU Anti-SLAPP Directive Faces Uneven Implementation
Justin Borg-Barthet told European Parliament committees that many Member States have fallen short of the Directive's requirements.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Legislative Policy
Justin Borg-Barthet addressed European Parliament committees on the Legal Affairs and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs panels about implementing the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive, which is designed to protect people and organisations taking part in public debate from strategic lawsuits. He said many countries missed the transposition deadline, and several that did act adopted only minimal compliance measures.
Why it matters
SLAPPs are lawsuits used to silence critics through costly litigation, and uneven national transposition leaves protections inconsistent across the bloc. Borg-Barthet said the treatment of domestic cases, which the Directive's cross-border scope does not clearly cover, is a key concern, creating legal uncertainty for those facing such suits.
The testimony characterises implementation as uneven, with several Member States adopting only minimal compliance measures after the transposition deadline passed. The extraction gives no member-state count or case figures, and the specific countries that missed the deadline were not identified.
The players
Justin Borg-Barthet
Justin Borg-Barthet is the academic speaker who addressed the European Parliament committees on anti-SLAPP implementation, drawing on his work with the University of Aberdeen's School of Law.
University of Aberdeen School of Law
The University of Aberdeen's School of Law is the home institution of Borg-Barthet and has contributed to international anti-SLAPP research and policy development.
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the EU legislature whose Legal Affairs and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committees heard the testimony on the Anti-SLAPP Directive.
The details
Borg-Barthet outlined how wider stakeholder consultation and more ambitious legislative reforms can strengthen anti-SLAPP protections, drawing on recent legislative developments in Malta and Belgium. He spoke alongside Flutura Kusari and Pia Lindholm, and he called for stronger scrutiny of judicial decision-making, more training and public awareness, and further reform in criminal and administrative contexts.
Timeline
Article on Borg-Barthet's address to the European Parliament committees was published on 6 November 2026.
Legislative Context
The EU Anti-SLAPP Directive sets a common floor for protecting public-debate participants from strategic lawsuits, but its broad definition of cross-border matters leaves domestic cases in a grey zone. Borg-Barthet drew on recent legislative changes in Malta and Belgium to show how national reforms can go further than the minimum the Directive requires.
For journalists, activists and researchers who publish on public-interest issues, the level of legal protection depends on which Member State a case is heard in. Domestic cases that fall outside the Directive's cross-border scope may still leave them exposed to costly litigation.
The takeaway
Protection against SLAPPs in Europe currently depends heavily on national implementation, so anyone engaged in public debate should check how their own country has transposed the Directive. The gap between cross-border and domestic cases is where legal uncertainty is most likely to persist.
Further reading
For more on how EU laws move from adoption to national enforcement, see Legislative Policy.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Scottish Legal News.
