SIR - John Shearon suggests Tony Blair as the first president of the European Union, when, and if, the EU Reform Treaty is ratified (Letters, December 27).

This prompted me to state a few home truths about this club' to which Mr Shearon refers.

The European Union is an organisation whose auditors have not been able to sign off the books for the last 12 years.

In 2002, there were 10,000 examples of possible fraud; but the bureaucrats of the EU are answerable to no one, so no action is taken. As much as 20 per cent of the billions of pounds that we (as one of the biggest net contributors) pay in annually disappears down a black hole.

The all powerful commissioners dream up more and more rules and regulations.

These decisions are all taken in private, and the proceedings of the EU council are never published.

The 360 million people of the EU are regarded as rather inconsequential.

Is it not time a national government (while we still have one) has the guts to say enough is enough before it is too late, or, failing that, at least give us a referendum on the matter?

RICHARD CHAMINGS, UK Independence Party, Castlemorton Common.