EU farm ministers will make a third attempt to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in Luxembourg this evening, reconvening the stop-start discussions intended to transform European agriculture for the next decade.
Again, the focus will be on France - the stumbling block last week - when the ministers open their third round of talks on the reform proposals.
France, the largest beneficiary of EU farm spending, forced a break in negotiations last week after President Mr Jacques Chirac intervened just when it appeared that an agreement could be struck.
But France is still opposed to chunks of the radical reform plan to shake up the EU's subsidy-laden regime, which was written by EU Farm Commissioner Mr Franz Fischler.
"I think that this week we are in for a deal. The Commission and Franz Fischler have moved substantially to address concerns of member states, which has allowed us to narrow down the positions," Mr Gregor Kreuzhuber, Fischler's spokesman, said.
Mr Fischler has already back-tracked significantly on proposals to reform the EU's 45-year-old Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which has been panned for distorting world trade and holding back farming in developing countries.
Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh arrived in Luxembourg last night vowing to get the best possible deal for Ireland in the reformed package.
Ireland has so far backed French opposition to the size of the cuts in direct and marketing supports on milk and cereals being proposed by Dr Fischler.
CAP spending eats up nearly half of EU's entire annual budget of almost €100 billion. In the two rounds of negotiations held so far, Dr Fischler agreed to water down his most cherished vision of breaking the link between subsidy and output, which has been blamed for huge, wasteful overproduction in the past.