A tourist complex with a dry swimming pool, a half-built conference centre and an equity fund that devoured almost half as much in fees as it invested are some of the white elephants left by the European Union's drive to prepare Romania and Bulgaria for membership.

Up to half the €1.9bn ($2.4bn, £1.3bn) of aid given to the two Balkan states ahead of their expected entry next year has been poorly spent, the EU's financial watchdog said yesterday.