Finsbury International Policy & Regulatory Advisors

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Finsbury International Policy & Regulatory Advisers (Fipra) is a European public affairs consultancy network specialising in advice on political and regulatory issues. It claims to be the only consultancy with public affairs advisers in Brussels, throughout the Member States of the European Union (EU), as well as the Commonwealth of Independent States and China.

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]

EU 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]

People

  • Peter-Carlo Lehrell, chairman, Fipra International Ltd (London-based)
  • Laura Batchelor, director of Fipra Brussels office

Revolving door

  • John Bowis - former British MEP who joined Fipra as a 'special adviser' for health and environmental policy in June 2009. [5] 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.[6]

Contacts

Website: http://www.fipra.com

BRUSSELS

Rue de la Loi 227
1040 Brussels
Belgium
Tel.: +32 2 613 2828
Fax: +32 2 613 2849

LONDON

Tenter House
45 Moorfields
London EC2Y 9AE England
Tel.:+44 207 251 3801
Fax:+44 207 256 9552

References

  1. Fipra website, accessed Feb 2009
  2. Finsbury website, accessed November 2008
  3. About, Fipra website, accessed Jan 2018
  4. Finance industry is UK's biggest lobbyist in Brussels Lobby Facts, 26 January 2015, accessed 3 February 2015
  5. John Bowis, Fipra, accessed 4 November 2014
  6. 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