Rise of regions underpins need for EMU: Letter

Sir: Your leader on EMU ends by demanding political reform of the European Union before considering British participation in the single currency.

This is one of the principal objectives of the current intergovernmental conference, which is due to end next year, well before any final decisions on EMU will be required.

Proposals for democratic reform being considered include increased powers for the European Parliament over the secretive decisions of the Council of Ministers, greater control over the Commission, as well as entrenching the principle of subsidiarity in a new treaty. All these would provide the necessary political reforms which your leader demands.

The only problem is that the UK government, almost alone, opposes all these measures. This probably means that our partners, as recently suggested by the German and French foreign ministers, will go ahead without us.

ERNEST WISTRICH

London NW3