Abstract
The market for media services and the journalism profession are under constant external pressure. Economic challenges, state interventionism, and threats to media independence put journalists under great pressure. The safety of journalists and transparency in the distribution of public money are pressing issues, and the idea for this study was inspired by two legislative proposals from the European Commission, which contain regulations that can help strengthen media freedom in the European Union. Following the adoption of the Directive on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings (“Strategic lawsuits against public participation”), journalists targeted by abusive legal actions aimed at silencing them can benefit from a series of procedural measures and safeguards, and the European Media Freedom Act contains a series of rules designed to protect the independence, pluralism and proper functioning of the media, including recommendations on the fair allocation of state advertising.