After 30 years of negotiation this might be the final act for a single EU patent. We talked to German MEP Bernhard Rapkay and Spanish MEP Antonio Masip Hidalgo.

Talking point: The EU patent, the final furlong?

After 30 years of discussions, will the single  EU patent finally see the light of day?

A pan-European system designed  to allow inventors to protect ideas

across Europe with one single application,

instead of applying in each Member State,

should save European citizens  and businesses thousands.

But in June the proposal ran  into trouble when MEPs objected

to the exclusion of the European Court  of Justice from the patent litigation system

On Tuesday, Parliament will vote  on a compromise

We asked the German  MEP Bernhard Rapkay

and the Spanish MEP  Antonio Masip Hidalgo for their views.

What will the single patent really change?

there will be protection  in 25 of the Member States -

Protection just has to be validated once  and then it is valid in all 25 states.

This means it will make  the patent much cheaper

and this is an important  advantage for SMEs.

I've the impression that  not much is going to change

because it's a very complicated single  European patent that is being created.

I've kept myself out  of the latest developments

because the Spanish language is more  important than French and German,

which are in decline in the world compared  with Spanish, which is on the rise.

Was the question of languages a major  stumbling block in the negotiations?

This is the reason why we have been  trying to fix it for years now

because it makes no sense as we have  to reduce costs by reducing translations

but then we continue to use all languages.

Also the European Patent Office  and the European Patent Convention

work with three languages -  German, English and French -

and until now Italy and Spain have been  a part of them and had no problems

Spanish is a lot more important  in the world

than our French and German  friends believe it is.

I respect them a lot but at the moment  I'm opting for a single language.

It would reduce the costs a lot more  and be a lot more flexible.

I believe that we should opt for English  and only see patents in English.