FIPRA
 FIPRA(Lobbyist, PR-company)     | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Formation | 2000 |
| Headquarters | London, Brussels |
Finsbury International Policy & Regulatory Advisers (Fipra) is a European public affairs consultancy network specialising in advice on political and regulatory issues. As founder and co-ordinator of the FIPRA Network, thet offer a lobbying reach spanning more than 50 countries, especially the European Union (It's main office is about 100 meters from the commission's headquarters in Brussels.)
It is made up of a network of senior public policy and regulatory advisers specialising in 'strategic government relations'. Advice includes: UK and EU political contact programmes; select committee training; and integrated political and media campaigns.[1] Work is handled either locally by the companies in our group or centrally by Fipra EU - a company owned by its UK Partner Finsbury, a financial, regulatory and political communications firm."[2]
At some point in its history it appears to have changed its name from Finsbury to Foresight International Policy and Regulatory Advisers (FIPRA).[3]
Lobbying
FIPRA International were among the top spending UK based lobbying firms offering lobby services to paying clients operating in Brussels in 2014, spending between €3,250,000 and €3,500,000. The lobbying company declares 26 lobbyists with 21 of those holding European Parliament passes, allowing the bearer virtually unlimited access to the Parliament's buildings.[4]
The FIPRA network contains some of the most ruthless and corrupting local strategic public affairs and communications companies, like First House in Norway[5] and Lexington Communications in the UK[6], where former chief media spokesman for the Labour Party, Mike Craven was working as an unpaid adviser to deputy prime minister John Prescott, while his PR-company Lexington was working with client British Airways at the same time the Labour government was preparing its transport white paper[7].
Buying up EU maritime officials
John Richardson, a former director in the European Commission's "Directorate General Mare," the EU's maritime and fisheries department, became Fipra's "maritime policy and diplomacy special advisor" in 2008. During his time at the commission, Richardson headed the task force that drafted the EU's 2007 Integrated Maritime Policy. His collegaue, Malta's Joe Borg, the commissioner responsible for maritime affairs and fisheries until last year, started woking with Fipra in 2010.
Fipra's Ukko Metsolo stated "We've become something of a magnet for recently retired high-level officials, with multiple former ministers, MEPs and heads of competition authorities."[8]
Revolving door
- John Bowis - former British MEP who joined Fipra as a 'special adviser' for health and environmental policy in June 2009. [9] Bowis was one of a number of MEPs involved in an EU lobbying scandal in 2008, when it was revealed they sat on a special board for 28 multinational companies that had set up a lobbying office in the European Parliament using a parliamentary telephone number and address.[10]
References
- ↑ Fipra website, accessed Feb 2009
- ↑ Finsbury website, accessed November 2008
- ↑ About, Fipra website, accessed Jan 2018
- ↑ Finance industry is UK's biggest lobbyist in Brussels Lobby Facts, 26 January 2015, accessed 3 February 2015
- ↑ https://fipra.com/network/fipra-norway/
- ↑ https://fipra.com/network/fipra-united-kingdom/
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1999/jan/17/uk.politicalnews3
- ↑ https://euobserver.com/institutional/30450
- ↑ John Bowis, Fipra, accessed 4 November 2014
- ↑ The European Alliance of EU-Critical Movements, Secret multinationals’ office revealed in the European Parliament, www.teameurope.info, 24 April 2008, accessed 5 March 2010
