The full European Parliament will not vote to formally approve the CAP deal struck in Brussels at the end of June before the autumn, its chief negotiator Norbert Lins has said.

Negotiators from the Parliament and the European Council managed to agree a compromise package after three years of negotiations.

The deal must now undergo a serious of technical refinements before it is formally approved by both institutions.

Agricultural ministers met in Luxembourg at the end of June to give their seal of approval, with only one member state, Bulgaria, voicing opposition to the deal. It will still require ministers to hold a formal vote before it can enter into EU law.

Autumn vote

Lins said he was hopeful technical work on the deal could be completed before the Parliament’s summer recess, which begins at the end of July.

Members of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee, which includes Irish MEPs Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, Chris MacManus and Colm Markey, will vote on the deal upon their return in September.

Addressing MEPs on Thursday, Lins said the full Parliament would likely vote to ratify the deal by October at the earliest, but possibly as late as November.

In the meantime, member states will be working to complete their strategic plans, which must be submitted to the European Commission for approval by 31 December 2021.