Brussels, 31/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - The president of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, and the leaders of the various political groups represented at the EP have taken the unanimous decision to overhaul and strengthen rules governing the access and behaviour of lobbyists and to tighten the code of conduct for MEPs. To this end, a working group composed of MEPs has been set in place to prepare the new set of rules, it is explained in a press release published on Thursday 31 March following a meeting of the conference of presidents. The Parliament's decision comes as a reaction to the scandal revealed recently by The Sunday Times which cast disrepute on a number of MEPs for having accepted money payments from undercover journalists posing as lobbyists in exchange for slowing down draft legislation with amendments (see related article). “I believe that we need to look very closely at the question of what we expect from Members of the European Parliament, both in terms of their own behaviour and their contacts with outside interests of various kinds”, Buzek commented. According to a press release, all political group leaders approved the line of action taken by the EP president since the revelation of the scandal. (H.B./transl.jl)