Environment campaign group Greenpeace filed a lawsuit against US energy company Energy Transfer in Amsterdam on Wednesday, marking the first use of the European Union’s new anti-SLAPP regulations.

The environmental rights organisation is facing a €560 million penalty in the United States after a jury in North Dakota found Greenpeace was the mastermind behind mass protests over pipeline in Dakota.

Greenpeace International, which is headquartered in the Netherlands, says the lawsuit is a clear example of legal bullying.

“Greenpeace International refuses to allow the intimidation tactics of rich fossil fuel companies such as Energy Transfer to jeopardise our fundamental rights, such as the right to freedom of expression,” Amy Jacobsen, one of the group’s lawyers, told a crowd outside the Amsterdam courthouse.

Last year, Brussels passed a directive aimed at protecting civil society groups from abusive legal proceedings. The anti-SLAPP, or “strategic lawsuits against public participation”, directive allows groups to bring suits against governments or companies for trying to silence them, even if they happen outside of the European Union.

Lawyers for Greenpeace expect the proceedings to take 12-18 months.

Energy Transfer had not yet officially acknowledged the case in the Netherlands. Even if the Texas company refuses to participate, the proceedings could continue in absentia.