I WOULD like to congratulate the East Lancs Railway and those concerned with the seed gathering sessions in Heaton Park on managing to obtain funding from Europe and I would urge anyone to take advantage of any Euro funding available. After all this country is a net contributor to Europe to the tune of £2 billion - paying in £6 billion and receiving £4 billion.

All over the country the EU logo is being compulsorily shown in order to obtain funding and giving the impression that the EU funding is total when on many occasions the project is only part funded. The Metrolink extensions to Eccles and Broadway are a typical example where, out of approximately £120 million, the EU is providing only £9.8 million.

It is understandable that the European Programme Secretariat would want to advertise the crumbs we can receive from Big Brother's table (which, incidentally, will be considerably less when the poorer Eastern European countries join in the run up to the Single Currency referendum). But the price we have already paid in privatisation, public expenditure cuts and, more importantly, our right of self-determination, is horrendous.

I would urge readers not to be "bribed" into voting to enter a Federal European state run by bankers for the benefit of Transnational Corporations.

JIM HOMEWOOD,

Carr Avenue,

Prestwich.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.