Reminds me of new EU members. Joining the EU was advertised as source of funds for development and catching-up with the West and now a benchmark of politicians'

Reminds me of new EU members. Joining the EU was advertised as source of funds for development and catching-up with the West and now a benchmark of politicians' "performance" is how much funds are they able obtain for their electorate - the more is spent, the better. In extreme cases one didn't even have to bribe officials to get bogus contracts because if the city didn't find a way to spend all the money it was offered, it would simply get less.