Marietta Giannakou (PPE). – (EL) Mr President, congratulations to Mr Casini on his report, which is absolutely right. Of course, the question of transparency touches on the dignity of parliamentarians, of that there can be no doubt. However, the more such measures we take, the better we promote transparency and functional relations between the institutions of the Union and our social partners and interest groups.

The new register, as proposed, safeguards transparency across the broad spectrum of institutional contacts and concentrates representatives of special interests, representatives of civil society and representatives of the public authorities in separate chapters, thereby distinguishing between the different roles of interest groups and official institutional spokesmen.

The invitation to register safeguards the very identity of interest groups and lobbyists, by recognising them independently and positioning them so that they can speak directly and immediately with the EU institutions.

Following the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, the powers of the European Parliament have been enhanced and this is attracting increasing numbers of representatives asking for intervention.

To close, the Transparency Register mainly serves transparency and democratic, pluralistic interaction between the social partners, the citizens who gave parliamentarians a mandate and the EU institutions. It goes without saying that all EU institutions and senior officers must have a place in any such Transparency Register.