Bulgaria and Germany will cooperate in finding green practices. This was agreed by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Verginia Krasteva and Joachim Rukwied, President of the Association of German Farmers and President of COPA. During the meeting, Deputy Minister Krasteva emphasized that the future Common Agricultural Policy focuses on environmental protection. The current green direct payments are part of the so-called conditionality for receiving direct payments, and new eco schemes should build on the current level. The two agreed that the new green requirements should not make it difficult for farmers in order to be attractive to implement. As is known in the EC proposal for a regulation, new environmental practices are mandatory for Member States but voluntary for farmers. She also stressed the importance of maintaining transitional national aid beyond 2020 and increasing the budget for coupled support, thus maintaining stability in support of farmers. Joachim Rukwied, for his part, stressed that they insist on a 2-year transitional period while maintaining the same rules and schemes
The Deputy Minister also met with Gerhard Schwätie, President of the Chamber of Agriculture of the Federal State of Lower Saxony in Hanover, Germany. The two agreed on an exchange of experience in agriculture. "At the threshold of the new Common Agricultural Policy, knowledge transfer must work at a good level. Bulgaria and Germany have many points of contact in the field of agriculture and we would borrow from you good practices by training our experts", said Deputy Minister Krasteva. Gerhard Schwätie, for his part, introduced Deputy Minister Krasteva to the structure and functions of the Agricultural Chamber and expressed his readiness to work together.