An Irish farm organisation is calling for an "independent investigation" into potential "undue lobbying activities" that may have been carried out by environmental non-government organisations and paid for with EU money.

As reported by Agriland earlier this month, the European Commission acknowledged that the EU’s LIFE programme, which provides funding for environmental and climate change mitigation projects, may have funded lobbying activities by NGOs.

This announcement preceded the release of a report from the European Court of Auditors - which oversees spending by EU institutions - last week which said that some EU grants, including those issued through the LIFE programme, likely funded "advocacy actions" that included lobbying of MEPs.

There have been claims in Ireland and among MEPs that the controversial Nature Restoration Law was one of the policies for which lobbying took place.

Now, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers' Association (INHFA) has called for an "independent investigation to ascertain the full reach of this mis-appropriation of funds".

INHFA president Vincent Roddy said there is "major concern around the relationship between the commission and the environmental pillar", and added that the statement from the commission on the LIFE programme “should not come as a surprise to many".

Roddy claimed: "The decision by the commission to issue their statement at the same time of the Trump tariffs and the judgement against [French right-wing politician] Marine Le Pen would indicate that [the commission is] trying to limit the damage by getting the story out when the media and public are otherwise distracted.”

Roddy further claimed that a survey carried out in May of last year, which seemed to indicate pubic support for the Nature Restoration Law in countries whose governments opposed the law at the time, was an example of the "undue lobbying activity" referenced by the commission and the Court of Auditors.

"The fact that the opinion poll was only conducted in these countries indicated clear intent around its objectives," Roddy commented.

The body that commissioned that survey, RestoreNature, acknowledges on its website that it receives funding from the LIFE programme, although the website also states that the opinions expressed by RestoreNature cannot be regarded as reflecting the position of any of its funders.

"While the commission may well maintain that this financial support doesn’t necessarily mean they are supportive of the polling, we should recognise that these opinion polls definitely benefited EU institutions, including the commission, in helping to get the Nature Restoration Law (NRL) passed," Roddy commented.

The results of that survey were released at a time when the Nature Restoration Law was bogged down in the Council of the EU and its adoption was still in question.

The law was eventually adopted only after an Austrian minister voted against the position of her own government, and after the European elections last summer.

"As an independent executive arm of the EU with responsibility to implement decisions reached by the European Parliament and Council of the EU, it is vital that the commission remain independent and should not in any way be seen to influence policy at member state level, especially when it is policy that [it has] been so invested in," Roddy said.

"The concerns outlined by a number of MEPs and others must not be brushed aside, which is why we are calling for an independent enquiry to establish all the facts," the INHFA president added.