Comment: Ministers will need some of Old Iron Pants’ stamina

The ability to sit through hours of talk while all the time remaining alert for the slightest chink in an opponent’s armour or the opportunity to build on a supporter’s argument will be tested to the full both today and tomorrow as they try to hammer out a deal on the next common agricultural policy (CAP).

Such is the pressure being put on the delegates , to complete the negotiations by the Irish who currently hold the presidency of the EU, the talks will continue until the proverbial “wee small hours” on Wednesday if necessary.

I do not think any of today’s European politicians have nicknames such as was given to John Silkin as he negotiated the UK’s entry into Europe 40 odd years ago. On account of his ability just to tough it out, he was called “Old Iron Pants”.

If anything, this week’s agricultural negotiations are more complex than Silkin faced four decades ago. Numerically there are almost three times the number of people sitting around the negotiating table, for one thing, as the EU has expanded out to 27 member states and you can be sure every voice has to be heard.

As was shown in last week’s European Parliament debate, the newcomers, especially from the former eastern bloc countries, made their presence felt in the CAP deal produced by the MEPs.

The other issue making the next few days extremely difficult for those around the negotiating table is the sheer complexity of the proposals.

It seems a long time ago since the EU Agricultural Commissioner Dacian Ciolos, left, declared that he wanted to make the next CAP much simpler.

Ironically that lofty ambition perished with the publication of his proposals aimed at making the next CAP more environmentally friendly and the current CAP package was made even more complex with the tweaks inserted by the MEPs who were flexing their muscles on the CAP for the first time.

Before proceeding, I would congratulate the elected representatives for concluding their part of the negotiations on time. Whether you agree with their outcome or not, this was a major undertaking by those driving the agenda.

The urgency for a deal under the Irish presidency is underlined by the fact that Lithuania assumes the presidency in July and neither they nor the Greeks, who take over in January 2014, are reckoned to have the political clout to get a deal. Politically, Lithuania would also push for more support to go to member states that are still in the process of gaining equality and Greece would be likely to push a southern European agenda. Both factors are concentrating the minds of long-established northern European countries on getting a deal under the Irish All of which puts big pressure on Simon Coveney, the Irish farm minister, who will chair the meetings today and tomorrow.

As the talks proceed his recent problems with horsemeat being found in Irish meat plants may fade away in the distance but like all politicians he will be aware of his electorate.

Irish farmers are conservative in nature and have traditionally done well out of Europe.

They are resisting change by suggesting transition is implemented over a lengthy period. If Coveney does not deliver what they see as a good CAP, then his political career may be shorter than he had hoped.

The certainty is that any deal reached this week will be a compromise. Staggering out of a previous CAP deal one politician told me it was not just about the parts that were won, it was also important the parts that were lost were not substantive.

Then for farmers in the various parts of the UK, the next big deal will be how the CAP is divided between England and the devolved parts of the country. This negotiation will actually be far more vital for Scottish farmers than this week’s Brussels deal.

And while, Richard Lochhead, the Scottish farm minister can highlight the different priorities he would have liked to see this week, when the internal UK deal comes forward, he will be expected to deliver the goods for Scottish agriculture.