Stavros Lambrinidis (S&D). - Mr President, it has often been said that our citizens are unaware of the greater powers that this Parliament has had since Lisbon. This may be true, and it is very unfortunate, because, rest assured, lobbyists – or those pretending to be lobbyists, as proven recently – are very much aware of the powers of this Parliament. We co-decide on almost all major legislation in the EU, and that is a good thing, because we represent the people of the EU. We are the only body directly elected by them.

Now, although this is, and will remain, one of the most transparent institutions in the Union, I still believe that with greater power comes greater responsibility, and this is precisely what we must strive to achieve in the months to come. The agreement today with the Commission is not bad, but lobbyists must be obliged to put their names and their real interests in a register. And this is what this Parliament is already demanding of lobbyists coming here to us. I hope that the other institutions will follow suit.

I close by saying the following. As you mentioned, I am a co-chair of this working group that we have in place. I cannot say much about what we are discussing in detail. I can assure you, however, that we will ensure that the rules of conduct for this Parliament will be some of the most transparent and will be rules which can make our citizens and ourselves proud of being members of this extraordinary institution.