BA directive against Roberta Metsola ‘unprecedented’, must be suspended

The European Parliament office in Malta has reacted to the Broadcasting Authority’s reply to its directive to the media to limit coverage of European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, saying such a move was “unprecedented.”

The office is following up on its criticism of a directive the Labour-led Broadcasting Authority issued to the media to handle any coverage of Metsola “with caution” in the lead-up to the MEP elections.

“The European Parliament Office in Malta would like to point out that the paragraph in questions (3 (4) (IV)), which singles out the European Parliament as an institution and its president, is unprecedented and could serve to curtail the voices and information from the European Parliament,”, the office said in a statement on Wednesday.

The office pointed out that the directive’s current wording “could noticeably impinge on the European Parliament’s ability to fulfil its mandate in Malta.

“It gives the Broadcasting Authority the power to sanction media houses that, in their view, report on the activities of the European Parliament and its president. This could have a chilling effect on Maltese journalists.”

The office stressed that the wording of the controversial directive “makes a level playing field impossible”.

It stressed the immediate need for a suspension of the directive and a review to ensure that parliament’s rights are fully respected, important for Maltese citizens to have the same information as every other European citizen.

The Office of the European Parliament in Malta reiterated its call for the Broadcasting Authority to encourage media houses under its remit to enable as broad and far-reaching a discussion as possible in the run-up to the European Parliament elections.

Surveys show Metsola leading the way in the polls by a large margin. The Broadcasting Authority’s move is seen as a move to favour the Labour Party in government, which is struggling to catch up.