The European Commission said Friday Italy should implement reform of its defamation laws to make it harder to file frivolous and vexatious libel suits and should make more efforts to boost press freedom.
“No progress has been made in the legislative process regarding the defamation reform, the protection of professional secrecy, and journalistic sources.
Therefore, Italy is recommended to advance the reform while guaranteeing press freedom, taking into account European standards in this area,” said the recommendations to Italy attached to the 2025 Rule of Law Report published by the Commission, which calls on the government to accelerate the still-stagnant reforms regarding conflicts of interest, lobbying, political financing, and the protection of press freedom.
