Bulgaria is complaining the EU sanctions on Russia are having a toll on its economy.

      Its Prime Minister told a press conference in Brussels that ‘Bulgaria is affected severely’ by the restrictions.

      Russia accounted for 2.7 percent of Bulgaria's exports in 2013, which mostly included machinery, pharmaceuticals and agricultural produce.

      “Bulgaria's exports to Russia were down 22 percent in August from a year earlier, while overall EU exports to Russia were down 18 percent, according to the EU statistics office Eurostat,” says a report by the Voice of America.

      “Due to the embargo, we cannot export meat ... Bulgaria is facing not only political and economic and financial problems, we are facing global problems and that is why we need serious support,” Borisov was quoted by VoA as saying.

      The number of Russian tourists is likely to fall in future because of the weakness of the rouble. Also, Russia said it would scrap its South Stream gas project that was supposed to run via Bulgaria.

      Russia has sparked a wave of criticism after it incorporated Crimea into its territory following a referendum on the peninsula with a large ethnic Russian population.

      The US and the EU imposed a raft of sanctions on Russian officials and individuals with close ties to the Kremlin.

      The US also put space and military cooperation on hold, followed by some of its NATO allies, including the UK.

      Trade between the EU and Russia fell sharply in 1Q 2014, echoing a sour political relationship between Moscow and Brussels split over the Ukraine crisis.

      According to Eurostat, EU imports from Russia dropped more than 9 percent in the first quarter of this year totaling €49.1 billion in March, versus €54.4 billion in the first quarter of 2013.

      As Euractiv.com points out, in 2013 the EU only had 27 members, which means the slide is in fact “even more significant”.

      EU exports to Moscow saw a 10.5 percent decrease, shrinking from €28.7 billion to €25.6 billion.