Brexit and sovereignty

SIR – Nigel Farage “(Jean-claude Juncker has made clear the EU’S anti-democratic bent. Thank goodness we’re leaving”, telegraph.co.uk, September 14) confuses democracy with sovereignty.

The creation of a European army is not undemocratic, as directly elected representatives who have been entrusted with such decisions will be free to decide whether or not to participate or not in such an endeavour. However, it is definitely a matter of sovereignty, as it requires relinquishing full control of a national army and exchanging it for joint control of a combined one.

Views on sovereignty are so personal that they can quickly change depending on the sacrifices required to preserve or recover it. Fifty-two per cent of the UK electorate voted for Brexit, which is a vote for more sovereignty; but as the costs of this sovereignty materialise over time, some may start thinking a European army (among other things) was a much smaller price to pay after all. Antero Touchard

Madrid, Spain