Hard times in northwest Bulgaria, the EU's poorest region In Rasovo in northwest Bulgaria, the most impoverished area of the EU's poorest country, life remains tough, despite seven years of European Union membership. An in agriculture, the mainstay of the local economy, the hopes of small farmers for EU aid have been dashed, with government data showing that 80 percent of farming subsidies have gone to six percent of farmers. A natural sound version of an AFPTV report.