Even by EU standards, the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) ratified by the Union’s 27 agriculture ministers on Monday has been a protracted, bruising affair. The deal prepared by negotiators for the European Commission, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament is now expected to be confirmed by MEPs, whose centrist and conservative majority will likely vote the final compromise through – if only to keep the policy alive and end the uncertainty. Since November 2018, when then Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan introduced his draft proposal to update the €60 billion-a-year CAP mammoth, it has caused…