mr president i think we owe a debt of gratitude to the sunday times for exposing the amendments for money <unk>
as a result as you know yourself a working group has been established by the bureau to introduce binding codes of conduct for all meps
part two of cleaning up the act is what we did today by voting for this report in huge numbers
i believe that the register of lobbyists is long overdue but i have a number of reservations
first of all i think that it should be mandatory
however it is a step in the right direction and it is worth noting that the lobbyists themselves the reputable lobbyists actually are in touch and are in favour of compulsory registration
i am disappointed however that the council has not signed up to the proposal
it is worth noting that the three meps who were exposed in terms of the amendments for money <unk> are all former government ministers
the registration of lobbyists is a big issue and lobbying is a big issue and we need to push on use this as an experiment and hopefully in the future make it compulsory and mandatory
