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Because the more and more brutal invasion of Ukraine fuels public scrutiny of company hyperlinks with Moscow, a few of Brussels’ best-known lobbyists and legislation corporations are breaking ties with Russian shoppers.
However legal professionals, consultants and accountants are additionally feeling the warmth. In Britain, a lawmaker final week used parliamentary privilege to call legal professionals nonetheless representing Russian shoppers.
In Brussels, Transparency Worldwide has referred to as on the EU establishments to strip lobbyists of accreditation in the event that they proceed to behave on behalf of Kremlin-linked firms.
“We have to be sure that Putin’s Russia now not has a voice in Brussels and that Russian soiled cash can now not purchase EU affect,” mentioned Transparency Worldwide EU director Michiel van Hulten.
“Russian state-owned firms have a protracted historical past of lobbying the EU, typically with the assistance of Western consultancies and legislation corporations, but in addition via Brussels suppose tanks and commerce associations,” mentioned van Hulten, who’s a former Dutch member of the European Parliament.
Some consultancies, corresponding to Brunswick or Kreab, had been already refusing Russian shoppers properly earlier than the invasion in late February. Legislation agency Covington represented the Ukrainian authorities on a pro-bono foundation in its case in opposition to Russia on the Hague this week.
Different corporations have solely acted post-invasion.
Linklaters was among the many first main legislation corporations with a giant presence in Brussels to have minimize ties with Russia and closed its Moscow workplace.
One other agency, DLA Piper, mentioned they’re “urgently reviewing all Russia-related shopper engagements to make sure we don’t act in a manner that conflicts with our values.”
Dentons, whose web site lists work on behalf of Russian firms and whose managing accomplice in Brussels is a former Russian diplomat, mentioned they “have already concluded sure relationships and declined sure directions” as a part of a evaluate.
Chook & Chook, among the many prime 5 legislation corporations in Brussels by lobbying spend, mentioned that they had withdrawn from and declined “Russian-related work the place such work is opposite to our values.”
However in what is probably an indication of the broader company soul-searching amid the unfolding battle, Chook & Chook mentioned it will “proceed to help shoppers who’re reviewing their enterprise relationships with Russia, which incorporates assessing the continuity of their operations in Russia.”
Of the 2 consultancies with a few of the highest EU lobbying spend in Brussels, FTI Consulting mentioned they’re “reviewing all ongoing connections with non-sanctioned Russian entities” and can withdraw from them “the place it’s applicable,” whereas Fleishman-Hillard mentioned it “won’t settle for any work with Russian, Luhansk or Donetsk-based firms or people.”
FIPRA Worldwide, one other consultancy with a significant presence in Brussels, mentioned it had reviewed its clientele to make sure the agency was in compliance with the sanctions choice taken by the EU and nationwide governments in opposition to Russia and Russian firms.
“We’ll proceed appearing with due diligence as we hold monitoring the scenario,” FIPRA mentioned.
Stress to finish relations with Russian lobbies is also coming from pro-transparency lawmakers within the European Parliament.
Daniel Freund, a German Inexperienced, has informed European Fee president Ursula von der Leyen and European Parliament president Roberta Metsoa to bar 11 Russian state-owned firms and “pro-Kremlin firms” together with Gazprom and Rosatom from their premises.
“They spend greater than three million euros a yr on lobbying in Brussels,” Freund wrote on Twitter. “It could be ridiculous to have those that finance Putin’s struggle affect European politics.”
However Andreas Geiger, the managing accomplice of 1 main Brussels legislation and lobbying agency, Alber & Geiger, defended some stage of ongoing contact, and insisted that the strikes had been over-hasty.
“Our expertise reveals that firms, whether or not American, European, Chinese language or Russian, often don’t have any curiosity of entering into political crossfire or geopolitical disputes,” mentioned Geiger, who’s the creator of the EU Lobbying Handbook.
“I believe typically shoppers from such international locations do not even have pursuits aligned with their authorities’s actions as a result of they really undergo financially from it” and “so serving to them discover a manner out of the scenario is usually not even illegitimate I’d say.”
Geiger mentioned his agency doesn’t at present signify any Russian shoppers and thoroughly scrutinises instances earlier than accepting them — however he mentioned it will “not draw back from representing Russian shoppers even at this level,” if “their pursuits are justified.”
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