The European Parliament has officially launched the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism on the third anniversary of her murder.

Launched in Brussels on Friday, the purpose of the prize is to distinguish outstanding journalism that reflects the European Union’s principles and values, as enshrined in the European Charter of Human Rights.

The European Parliament considers that protecting press freedom around the world, and particularly that of investigative journalists while exercising their duties, is in the vital interest of democratic societies.

Even though the prize is initiated and supported by the EP, it will be managed by an independent EU-based media partner in order to protect the independence of the prize and the work of the media.

The European Parliament will soon begin selecting an independent organisation to establish the detailed criteria to award the prize and decide on who will sit on the jury. A call for tender to select such an organisation will be launched before the end of 2020.

The call for nominees for the prize will be launched around May 3, 2021 – World Press Freedom Day. The annual award ceremony will take each year around the anniversary of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s death.