Britain’s EU membership should be based on trade and nothing more

SIR – David Cameron’s demands for European Union reform (report, November 11) do not offer the radical change the British electorate has been expecting. Surely we need to return to the original concept of the Common Market that Britain joined in 1973.

Everything that is not essential to this arrangement should be scrapped, at least for Britain.

Rodney Tate

Bedford SIR – Mr Cameron has failed to address a number of major issues, such as the EU’s policies on agriculture and fisheries, which could lead to a real battle.

One might despair if not for the fact that his approach may inadvertently make the case for Brexit.

H C Millard

Tunbridge Wells, Kent SIR – Surely the first matter that needs to be rectified, if we are to stay in the EU, is the accountability of the European Commission. The EU accounts have not been signed off for 20 years.

No other organisation or company would be allowed to continue in this way.

Pauline Simpson

Wokingham, Berkshire SIR – Mr Cameron is right that leaving the EU could “change our ability to get things done in the world”.

As a country we may have to sacrifice some of our sovereignty as an EU member state, but the good outweighs the bad. Only America has the power to influence international affairs on its own. Nobody will listen to us if we are on our own, and we will be left out in the cold.

Rebecca Clarke

Newcastle upon Tyne SIR – In his speech at Chatham House, in London, on Tuesday, David Cameron railed against “ever-closer union”. However, that has been the raison

d’être of the European project from its inception. The process is inexorable, and a single European state the only logical culmination. If that is not what you want, then the EU is not for you.

Roger Smith

Meppershall, Bedfordshire SIR – The debate on Europe is predominantly seen in economic terms. I think it should be seen in geopolitical terms.

I was brought up during the Second World War, and saw how it devastated Europe. In my view, the subsequent formation of the EU was one of the most uplifting political events in European history.

The EU has many faults. We mostly know what they are, and with any luck David Cameron will at least make a start at addressing them.

My fear is that if Britain leaves the EU, it could prompt separatist campaigns in other member states. A European Union weakened in this way would then be at the mercy of those who are not our friends.

Althea Richardson

Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire