Spanish election aftermath and the watering down of the EU’s anti-SLAPPs law

We analyze the outcome of the recent elections in Spain and what it means for the country and the EU going forward. Also, we discuss the EU’s proposal targeting SLAPPs — strategic lawsuits against public participation, which often target journalists and civil society activists.

Host Suzanne Lynch is joined by POLITICO’s Aitor Hernández-Morales to discuss the outcome of the Spanish election on July 23. Aitor explains the fascinating forces that shaped the final days of the campaign, why the outcome isn’t so clear cut, and where the government goes from here. You can read all of Aitor’s reporting on the election here.

Then, Suzanne speaks to Andrew Caruana Galizia, the son of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia who was killed in 2017 by a car bomb in an assassination that shocked Malta and the wider European community. At the time of her death, Daphne was facing dozens of so-called SLAPPs lawsuits. Andrew explains what the EU is trying to do to harmonize anti-SLAPPs legislation across the bloc, but why it’s at risk of being watered down.