Sir, – Eamonn McCann tells us that the EU is "undemocratic" and "may not survive" ("Undemocratic EU may not survive grim challenges", Opinion & Analysis, April 7th).
The EU is made up of nearly 30 democratic countries each of which signed a treaty to share responsibility for matters of mutual concern.
It is not perfect and, given that it is the most developed of such efforts in the world, it is natural that it has its problems.
But it is not undemocratic.
Whether the EU survives or not depends, therefore, on the democratic decisions of its governments. Given human nature that will be surrounded with many uncertainties.
For example, the most powerful citizens of a number of the countries of the EU, Ireland and Greece among them, made reckless decisions and consequently these states went bankrupt. All except Greece seem to be making some kind of recovery. So when Eamonn McCann quotes the former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, of a country that is now on its third bailout, he is hardly quoting the most credible of witnesses.
The present problems of the EU and Europe in general pale into insignificance in comparison to the problems confronting the people of Europe when two totalitarian dictators reduced much of the Continent to ruins in a war over who should dominate Europe.
That happened within the lifetime of many and is not so long ago that it should be forgotten. – Yours, etc,
A LEAVY,
Sutton, Dublin 13.