Letters: Europe’s contribution to peace

Peace project

Sir: It was heartening to read your editorial on the peace which has reigned in Europe since 1945, in which you paid justified tribute to those who sacrificed their lives in the two world wars (‘Why we remember’, 13 November). You emphasised how Nato and the UN have contributed to the maintenance of peace, but sadly you failed to mention the European project and the EU. The first president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, always insisted that the project of European integration, launched by Adenauer, Schuman and De Gasperi, was above all a ‘peace project’. That continues to be the view of today’s Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. The peace dividend of the EU must not be overlooked. The UK may no longer be a member of the EU. It did, however, make a distinguished contribution for almost half a century, not least in its commitment to peace.

Mgr Patrick H. Daly

Caversham, Reading

The will to remember

Sir: It is my honour to help organise the Western Front Association’s annual service at the Cenotaph, which occurs on 11 November every year, and as such I was gratified to read your leader about remembrance. This year we were joined by a number of exceptional young men and women, all of whom had served in recent conflicts, and on the morning of the 11th were able to invite into our ceremony a group of young men from the Parachute Regiment who had come along in the hope of getting close to the Cenotaph. What is clear to our association is that the desire to come together and remember is as important today as it has ever been.

Richard Hughes

Western Front Association, London WC1