Ireland’s voting allies not as clear as they once used to be

It was for a good reason that the Irish Agriculture Minister traditionally cosied up to his French counterpart, when there were big pickings to be decided in EU negotiations in Brussels.

In crude terms, the common financing of the CAP was originally put in place to ensure a net transfer to France as a quid pro quo for opening its market to German industrial products, says CAP expert Alan Matthews.

But he questions if France will continue to defend the CAP so strongly in the future, because it has become a net contributor to the agriculture policy, after decades of being a net beneficiary.