If Carlsberg did informal EU agriculture meetings, they would happen in west Cork on a Monday afternoon with schoolchildren and commissioners and ministers and pints of porter, a beaming benevolent sun and happy faces all around.
That is how yesterday was on the streets of Glengarriff, where laid back Ireland put its best and most charming foot forward when the farm ministers arrived back, following a boat trip to Garnish Island.
The normally sceptical Brussels media corps were bowled over when they saw the entourage - led by Commissioner Franz Fischler - lead the charge to say hello and sign autographs for the local schoolchildren. In fact, what they witnessed was many of the ministers going to the children from St Fachtna's school and asking them if they wanted autographs - not the other way round.
They were then treated to the German Minister for Agriculture, Renate Kunast, launching into her version of The Fields of Athenry on the streets of the town. And Dr Fischler had time to go into a local pub and pull a pint for himself and give us a tune on the guitar.
He had serious competition - on the previous night, the 28 ministers here for two days, including Commissioner David Byrne, had entertained the guests to a few tunes on the tin whistle and bodhrán.
Even the French minister, Herve Gaymard, warmed to the occasion and told reporters that his host, Mr Joe Walsh, was like "a big brother to him".
Madame Kunast agreed and said that the Irish Minister, the longest serving agriculture Minister in the EU, knew how to throw a party.
The new Europeans hung back a little as the older boys and girls in the class, including Britain's Margaret Beckett, behaved as if they were used to such relaxed behaviour
There was not even a decent IFA protest to cloud the sky. They left a placard at the jetty to Garnish, complaining about an attack on live cattle exports, but that was barely noticed.
Today, the fun ends and the visitors will discuss a paper on how to spread the word on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy to the farmers and the public. If they communicate half as well as they did yesterday, they will have no bother.