Letter: The euro rush

Sir: Hamish McRae's excellent analysis on the lessons of German reunification for the future of the euro (Business, 11 August) should be compulsory reading for those who would have us rush headlong into this experiment.

The implications of what Mr McRae states are enormous. First that if huge subsidies are needed then these must be financed by some form of EU federal tax. Second, unless there are democratic safety valves, extremism prospers. The democratic deficit of the EU and the inability to remove unelected European central bankers should make us fearful that if the experiment goes wrong, there will be no democratic solution.

DOUGLAS ELLISON

London SE3