The EU Transparency Register celebrated its first birthday on 23 June with 5,150 interest groups registered with the European Parliament or European Commission, the Council considering whether to join them, and a public consultation to gather user feedback.

The European Parliament has now tightened up and simplified its accreditation procedures for interest representatives, which is now directly accessible via the Transparency Register website.

European Parliament Vice President Rainer Wieland, with specific responsibility for transparency issues stated: "As an information tool, the more people use and feed into this register, the more efficient it will become. I would therefore like to encourage all engaged in the representation of interests on the EU level to sign up to this "transparency pact" and encourage all Members of this House to refer to it for up-to-date information. "

The Council is currently "observing" the operations of the register, with a view to a future commitment to join the European Parliament and the European Commission in this joint register. Parliament hopes that they will become a full member as soon as possible.

Registration in the Transparency Register is voluntary. Nevertheless, it is mandatory to register to get access to the European Parliament. Individuals who have completed the registration process as set out on the Transparency Register's website may be granted access rights to the European Parliament for up to 12 months.

A public consultation on the operation of the register is available until the end of August on the Commission's "Your Voice in Europe" website.

REF. : 20120625IPR47616