In anti-SLAPP proposals, MEPs want vexatious lawsuits dismissed and plaintiffs punished MEPs Roberta Metsola and Tiemo Woelken have unveiled joint LIBE-JURI Committee proposals on EU-wide legislation aimed at prohibiting libel tourism in the form of SLAPP lawsuits against journalists and NGOs. The proposals also call for the empowerment of judges to take a priori decisions to immediately dismiss what they consider to be vexatious lawsuits, while also seeing those filing them sanctioned. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are lawsuits primarily intended to cause a chilling effect on critical media by burdening them with costs and expenses. This is usually done by taking libel action in other jurisdictions that levy high libel fines and where court costs are prohibitive.