Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1503554
WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION €1.00 WEDNESDAY • 12 JULY 2023 • ISSUE 852 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY EDITORIAL • PAGE 11 PAGE 7 franksalt.com.mt/ftb G E T €1 5 , 0 0 0 + W O R T H O F F U R N I T U R E A N D F U R N I S H I N G v o u c h e r s & D I S C O U N T S W H E N Y O U B U Y Y O U R F I R S T H O M E T H R O U G H U S ! BUYING YOUR FIRST HOME? Portelli seeks villas instead of abandoned ODZ tourist complex near Mizieb THE European Parliament yes- terday voted with a very strong majority in favour of an EU direc- tive aimed at protecting journal- ists, activists, academics, artists, and researchers from SLAPPs. Following the vote, the Presi- dent of the European Parliament and Maltese MEP Roberta Met- sola stated, "I am proud of this Parliament's tenacity. Because if it was not for the European Par- liament, we would not even have a proposal for the SLAPP direc- tive." The European Commission's proposal for a directive follows up on Parliament's own initiative report presented in 2021. As First Vice-President, the Maltese MEP spearheaded Parliament's initi- ative for EU-wide rules against Strategic Lawsuits Against Pub- lic Participation (SLAPPs). She led efforts together with German S&D MEP Tiemo Wölken and presented a report aimed at get- ting a wide-reaching agreement to prevent SLAPP suits across the bloc, in what was described as a water-shed moment for journal- ism in Europe. Metsola said that the ability for journalists to report freely on is- sues that are a matter of public interest is not just important, but essential, to the values that un- derpin our Union, such as equali- ty, democracy and the rule of law. "In these cases, claimants use their wealth to deter scrutiny. They aim to financially and emo- tionally drain their targets, forc- ing journalists to self-censor and producing a chilling effect on the reporting of abuses." JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority is once again facing a tricky application involving the redevelopment of an eye-sore in the outskirts of Miżieb. The development proposed by a company partly owned by devel- oper Joseph Portelli would entail the demolition of the abandoned tourist complex known as Sun- shine and replacing it with six villas with extensive gardens and pool areas overlooking the sur- rounding pristine countryside. The site is located off Triq il-Pal- ma in the vicinity of the Mizieb woodland in an area known as Tal-Argentier. The site borders on an Area of Ecological Importance. Heading to Inter It's now official: Inter Milan FC have confirmed signing Malta's top football female striker Haley Bugeja on a three-year contract PAGE 5 MEPs approve SLAPP directive "With Daphne's Law, we are protecting journalists, media freedom and democracy" - European Parliament President Roberta Metsola