Labour has wasted the opportunity to transform the Welsh economy during a decade of EU aid, Welsh Conservative MEP Kay Swinburne has claimed.
Despite spending billions of pounds in EU funding, on top of a rise in the overall Welsh block grant from Whitehall, the current state of the Welsh economy suggests government policies have failed, she said.
Speaking at a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Dr Swinburne predicted Labour's poor handling of the economy and regeneration funds would convince people to support her party at the General Election.
She also warned that a new EU directive threatened to impose more bureaucracy on the Finance Wales fund manager scheme.
"During the last nine years, Wales has been a significant beneficiary of EU funds, trying to bridge the gap between the Welsh GDP and that of the UK and European average," Dr Swinburne said.
"This EU money is supposed to assist in investments aimed at creating sustainable employment and local wealth creation. However, during this time the gap between Wales' economic performance and the leaders in the EU has got worse.
"It is the state of the Welsh economy, after having billions of funds from the EU, in addition to significant funds under the Barnett formula that seem to have been wasted by the current Labour Government in Westminster and the Labour-Plaid administration in Cardiff Bay.