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Sir,

 

In his letter of 28 January, Brian Whitington – quite obviously a Remoaner and not a Brexiteer – would have us believe that the EU is a good thing and we should learn from history. In extoling their virtues, he makes the claim that the EU was ‘founded out of the need to end war in Europe’ and ultimately bring peace to the region.

 

It is often argued that the EU played a key role in building peace in Europe after the Second World War and has helped keep the peace ever since. Those who argue like this forget one very important fact: it is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), created in 1949, not the EU, that has been the guarantor of peace in Europe for the last half-century.

 

In fact, it is hard to believe that the EU has created peace in Europe, because Europe has not been particularly peaceful. Various historical records show that, since 1945 there have been 25 armed conflicts in Europe, not including conflicts in the Soviet dominated areas of Eastern Europe before 1991.

 

The Yugoslav War in 1991 was the first example of the EU’s inability to prevent armed conflicts in Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union. When Yugoslavia collapsed, the EU was paralysed by the differing opinions of its members towards the newly-forming states and the outcome was a chaotic and ineffective mess. Yes, and Serbia was allowed to ‘battle it out’ until NATO stepped in with military force to push Serbian troops back. The EU failed to bring peace there.

 

It doesn’t end there. The EU was also slow to intervene and failed to prevent large-scale disasters such as the 1995 atrocities and massacres in Srebrenica. In the end NATO took over the military operation, all because the EU was in complete disarray over defence and security issues.

 

Mr Whitington quotes what Sir Winston Churchill said in Zurich, in 1946, about his wish for political union in Europe. Mr Churchill, however, being a wise and discerning politician, changed his views when he realised the dangers and consequences of such a union. On reflection he said afterwards, with no regret, “If Britain must choose between Europe and the open sea, she must always choose the open sea.”

 

As for all the ‘quality goods’ the EU has supposedly provided, does the writer from Shawbost honestly think that Britain would have been the loser had we not been inside the EU monster? Nonsense. And he fails to see that Britain paid a monstrous net sum of nearly half a trillion pounds to the EU budget since it joined in 1973 – to help the European Project become a reality. What the EU have done, through deceit and lies, is hoodwink this country to achieve its ultimate dream.

 

The fact is that the EU has been built on one deception after another – even one of their current presidents (it has many!) Jean-Claude Juncker, who disrespects democracy, doesn’t hide it. His boasting about his dishonesty and secrecy in government is as open as his commitment to a federal Europe. He once said: “when it becomes serious, you have to lie.” He confessed he “often had to lie” to protect the euro, and proudly pronounced: “I am for secret, dark debates…we decide on something, leave it lying around and wait and see what happens. If no one kicks up a fuss, because most people don’t understand what has been decided, we continue step by step until there is no turning back.”

 

We ignore, at our peril, the words of the last USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, when he said, “The EU is the old Soviet Union dressed in Western clothes.”

 

Mr Donald J Morrison

85 Old Edinburgh Road

Inverness.

Letter:  EU has been built on deception

7 February 2018