PETER MULLEN wrote about “the corrupt and self-regarding officials of the EU who have done what Hitler failed to do with force of arms: to destroy the sovereignty of the nations who make up its membership” (Echo, Oct 16).

I look at what has happened in Europe since the Second World War and conclude that if I had an influence on what had transpired a different course would have been taken.

I acknowledge that we are beset with problems which seem intractable.

The way European politics have gone has been studded with problems.

The EU has attempted, as far as it could, to deal with differences between members by negotiation round a table rather than resort to the battlefield.

This is a model which, if applied worldwide, would usher in a period of peace.

The underlying problem has been that the EU has instituted political and economic arrangements to accompany a military treaty to keep America involved in Europe and Russia at bay.

There was a genuine fear that Russia was in a position to dominate Europe at the end of the war.

This has never been my personal view and I think that when all the facts are examined critically by historians these fears will be found to be groundless.

Now Soviet power is a distant memory and the hegemony of America is drawing to a close.

A European solution to the world of the future needs to be sought.

What the Reverend Mullen wrote about Europe did not even start to address what needs to be discussed and thought through.

G Bulmer, Billingham.