Chris Snowdon has written an excellent report on state-funded "charities", a subject that has been touched on here a number of times, not least with respect to the Royal Society. Here's what Snowdon has to say about the big 10 green organisations:

The Green 10 can hardly be described as a shadowy organisation. They have their own website where they proudly explain that their role is to lobby for legislation.

‘We work with the EU law-making institutions - the European Commission, the European

Parliament and the Council of Ministers - to ensure that the environment is placed at the heart of policymaking.

While campaigning at EU level, Green 10 NGOs:

• encourage the full implementation of EU environmental laws and policies in the Member

States;

• lobby for new environmental proposals, as appropriate’

Originally, EU funding for these groups was limited to no more than 50 per cent of their annual income, but when members of the Green 10 complained that they were unable to attract enough voluntary donations to match the EU’s grants, the limit was raised to 70 per cent (Boin and Marchesetti, 2010, p. 10). This is rent-seeking of the least ambiguous kind.