Eurocrats must ditch dreams of a superstate

SIR – Until the latter years of the 20th century, the predecessor of the European Union – the European Economic Community – had operated pretty much as its founding fathers had planned back in 1957. It was intended to be a free-trade area.

Whether or not there always was a secret plan to create a single European state is open to debate. But the EEC trundled on as a trading bloc until the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993. This was a major step towards what had become the declared goal of a small group of politicians: a United States of Europe (USE).

It is unclear if the populations of the EU27 genuinely want to be part of a single state. They have never been asked directly. Eurocrats claim that the desire for a USE is illustrated by the enthusiasm of 27 countries (26 now) to join – but they are deluding themselves. A typical government will capitalise on any relationship that purports to offer a better deal for citizens. That is why so many eastern European countries have been recruited into the EU in recent years.

However, the traditions and cultures of European countries have been built up over hundreds of years and are hugely important to the citizens of those countries. A proposal to make those identities secondary to an amorphous superstate will, in the end, prove unacceptable.

Perhaps future generations of politicians will recognise the futility of trying to weld the disparate countries of the continent into a single entity, and see that what is required is a group of independent states trading and working together: in other words, the situation we had 30 years ago. David Stranack

Croydon, Surrey

SIR – Over the four days of golf ’s Solheim Cup, held in Des Moines, Iowa, we have witnessed the nonsense of the EU flag being used for the team that represents the whole of the continent of Europe.

I trust that after Brexit this brainwashing will cease. Terry Lloyd

Darley Abbey, Derbyshire