madam president so we are to have a transparency register unsurprisingly this has only come about because enterprising british journalists were able to demonstrate the ease with which some meps succumbed to the lure of money
at that point the european parliament not unlike the police chief in the film professed itself to be shocked shocked to discover that corrupt lobbying had been taking place under its very nose
this register bears all the hallmarks of the stable door being shut long after the horse has gone
the register will change little the lobbyists will always get through
a voluntary system of registration was introduced it was quite ineffectual
now some light will shine on what is going on but most of this will be thrust back into the murky depths of the stagnant pond it will be business as usual
as usual the law-abiding will bear the brunt of the red tape and wrongdoers will just find a way of carrying on
while taxpayers money sloshes around brussels in the quantities that it does there will always be unscrupulous lobbyists just as where there is carrion there are always vultures
