Italy's interests, concerns and priorities at this week's Agenda 2000 meeting of European Union Agriculture Ministers are almost all in total opposition to those of Ireland, especially with regard to beef and milk.
Italy's farming community goes into this week's meeting in a belligerent mood, that finds some of its historical roots in a belief that the 1992 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), drafted by the European Commission (under the guidance of Mr Ray MacSharry), was heavily biased in favour of the agricultural methods and traditions of northern European countries.
Italian dairy farmers have been protesting for the last week over the £400 million worth of fines levied on 13,486 of them for having exceeded their milk production quotas between 1995 and 1998.
Italian dairy farmers are angry not only because of the heavy fines, but also because they believe the original milk quota (set in 1984), is simply far too low. The Italian argument is that Italy's allowance of 9.9 million tons of milk meets only 65 per cent of national requirements, forcing it to import 35 per cent of its dairy product needs. In contrast Ireland produces almost 10 times its national requirement, with 8590 per cent of Irish dairy products being destined for the export market.
Italian-Irish divergences are perhaps even stronger when it comes to beef. Not only does Italy have to import up to 40 per cent of its beef requirements (unlike Ireland which produces 800 per cent of requirement), but Italian farmers also argue that the system of subsidies and premiums agreed in the 1992 CAP reform is not equitable.
"The system of premiums is unfair. In Italy, EU aid comes to 243 lire per kilo of beef, while in Ireland it comes to 1,773 lire per kilo," said Piemontese farmer spokesman Mr Bartolomeo Bianchi during a meeting in Turin last week.
Any analysis of Italian agricultural policy has to take into account that the industry, which represented 25 per cent of GDP in the 1950s, now represents approximately 3.5 per cent of GDP (by comparison, 13.7 per cent in Ireland). The agriculture lobby is lightweight and the ministerial portfolio carries little political clout. So much so that a referendum three years ago registered a majority vote in favour of the abolition of the ministry of agriculture.
However, despite the indifference of public opinion, the Italian farming lobby seems sure to make itself heard in Luxembourg this week.