madam president may i start by thanking mr casini for his work in delivering this interinstitutional agreement
members of the committee on constitutional affairs and the commission have worked well to develop a meaningful and practical report which will deliver more transparency in the legislative process
madam president it is good that you are in the chair today i thank you for your work in the negotiations between parliament and the commission
this report is proportional in its approach it is useful and i believe it will do good
it recognises the important role that regional and local governments play in shaping european legislation and therefore clearly differentiates between lobbyists and local and regional government officials
although the report is a step in the right direction there is still more that needs to be done
i hope that this register if it proves to be a success will develop into a mandatory register of lobbyists
i agree with mr duff's proposal that rapporteurs should name the lobbyists that they have had contact with when drafting a law
there is no doubt that we in this chamber are regarded with a fair amount of suspicion by our constituents
the more transparency and the more openness there is the better
with that in mind could i just say that the one problem with this agreement is that it is one institution short
it is disappointing that the council has not signed up
as co-legislator the member states should come together and sign up to the register so that we can deliver a truly transparent legislative process
