On the eve of the anniversary of the murder of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins press freedom and journalists’ groups in calling on Malta to set up a national action plan on media freedom and journalist safety.
Our organisations welcome the call by the Maltese authorities for public consultations on media freedom and are, in this paper, submitting a set of recommendations for consideration.
The implementation of such recommendations would be an appropriate and meaningful way to continue to mark the life and legacy of Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed in a car bomb attack on 16 October 2017.
The move to open up public consultations follows an ongoing exchange on institutional and rule of law reforms in Malta, whose record has been the subject of international scrutiny since the journalist’s murder eight years ago.
Such reforms present a historic opportunity for press freedom in both Malta and Europe. Press freedom and journalists’ groups call for draft legislation related to reforms to be considered for consultation, including by national and international civil society, journalists’ organisations, media freedom experts, the Council of Europe, and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), prior to being enacted by parliament or published by legal notice.
Our organisations are tracking the reform proposal put forward by the Maltese authorities in response to the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). Some recommendations below identify areas of concern that continue to require a more effective state response than outlined in the August 2025 legal notice.
This statement seeks to provide an overview of key international standards or texts that would provide a basis for shaping the planning and implementation of future legislative and non-legislative measures to protect journalists. It also provides a list of recommendations, in consideration of Malta’s press freedom context.
Source: EFJ
