The letter you published from Mr Quirk is just a list of wild complaints regarding the decisions made by the European Union (Letters, June 25, 'EU just like Zimbabwe').

Some of the complaints are wilder than others: ‘the EU is as democratic as Zimbabwe’; '28 unelected Eurocrats in the Commission…set the laws and rules for the EU… and we have absolutely no say’. These statements are plainly nonsense, but some people might believe them.

The fact is that all policy directions are set by the Council of Ministers from the 28 Member States, and all laws and rules are developed and debated in committee by the MEPs before being voted on in the European Parliament. The Commissioners are civil servants who are appointed by Parliament, which can (and has) turned down the list of commissioners.
Mr Quirk wants to turn the clock back to a day when the map of the world was half coloured in red. Those days have gone now, and no amount of wild thrashing will bring them back.

Brenda Tidmarsh-Stephen
Storth