According to Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary, Richard Lochhead, Europe needs to get a move on and agree the details of the CAP deal agreed in June.
He made the comments ahead of attending the Agriculture and Fisheries Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels.
The CAP reform talks may appear to have been concluded at the end of June but to an extent that is an illusion.
There are still important aspects to be agreed.
Mr Lochhead expected the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU to provide an update on recent negotiations between the European Council,the European Parliament and the European Commission.
Mr Lochhead said: “The Scottish Government’s aim throughout these CAP negotiations has been to achieve a fairer, more flexible deal to meet Scotland’s needs.
“Good progress was made in the agreements reached in June, particularly around the inclusion of the ‘Scottish clause’ which will reward active farming and put an end to slipper farming.
“But the negotiations are far from over. Some issues, including flexibility to move funds between Pillars and so-called ‘Degressivity’ the system of reducing or capping big farm payments remain unresolved.
“My priority during these talks is to seek urgent clarity on where we are with these matters and when we are likely to see the detailed implementing rules for CAP.
“The last thing we need is further delay.”
NFU Scotland president Nigel Miller was in Brussels last week on a similar mission to Mr Lochhead’s.
Mr Miller said on Monday: “Our Cabinet Secretary is right to push for some certainty on CAP as time is draining away and the window to design and implement a new scheme for 2015 is being unnecessarily eroded.
“The European Commission’s intent is to have all the implementation regulations fixed before the winter break but that target is now at risk.
“The budget issues, which are still to be resolved, will determine the shape of farming in Scotland. Budget cuts and financial discipline make this a crucial area.
“The potential to shunt more of the budget away from direct farm business support in Pillar One to wider rural development in Pillar Two casts a real shadow.
“Scottish farmers already receive a support payment, in euros per hectare, that is one of the lowest payment rates in Europe.
“Any further erosion of direct support risks Scottish agriculture operating in an economic twilight zone and disadvantaged within Europe and the UK.
“Degressivity, the new form of capping that has been proposed, also has dangers for Scottish production.
“With Scottish farms on average more than three times the size of the average farm unit in Europe, Scotland is very much in the firing line were degressivity to be introduced.
“Interim results from NFU Scotland’s survey of beef producers show that even moderate cuts in support through degressivity are likely to trigger significant cuts in the breeding herd and beef production.”