site.btaAgriculture Minister Confirms Bulgarian Position on CAP at Meeting with Irish Counterpart

Outgoing Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Georgi Tahov met with Ireland's Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine, Martin Heydon, at the 2026 International Green Week Berlin to discuss the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2027.

With Ireland set to hold the EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2026, Bulgaria aims to understand the country's priorities as negotiations are expected to advance at that time.

Tahov reaffirmed Bulgaria's position that CAP should remain strong and autonomous, structured in two pillars with a dedicated budget ensuring adequate farm incomes. He stressed that farm-level income support must be sufficient to sustain all farmers.

For his part, Martin Heydon highlighted that Bulgarian and Irish farmers share similar positions on CAP and its key role in ensuring EU food security. He stressed the need for a stable CAP budget and its increase.

At the fair, outgoing Deputy Minister Lozana Vasileva met with Kosovo Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development, Imri Demelezi. They discussed agricultural cooperation and Bulgaria's experience with CAP, SAPARD and the work of the Paying Agency.

During her visit to Berlin, Vasileva also participated in a meeting of agriculture ministers from Southeast European countries, organized by the Regional Rural Development Standing Working Group (SWG).

The International Green Week Berlin opened on January 16 and will run until January 26. This year's edition marks the 100th anniversary of the forum. Bulgaria is participating for the 35th time with its own national stand, which was opened by Georgi Tahov and Lozana Vasileva, Bulgarian Ambassador to Germany Grigor Porozhanov, German Federal Minister of Agriculture and Food Alois Rainer, Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen, German Farmers' Association President Joachim Rukwied, Christian von Boetticher, Chairman of the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries, and Messe Berlin CEO Mario Tobias.