Jones Lang LaSalle and LaSalle Investment Management have been measuring real estate transparency since 1999.  In its fifth edition, the 2008 Transparency Index has expanded into 'New Europe', covering 15 countries in total across Central, Southern and Eastern Europe.  Leaders in transparency in the region, including the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and increasingly Russia, are quickly closing the gap with the more mature markets of Western Europe.  While EU membership has geared further transparency improvements in both pre-accession and accession states of Central and Southern Europe, Russia and Ukraine have seen major changes due to the institutionalisation and internationalisation of their markets.