AT a time when we mourn the death of Pope John Paul, one of the greatest Europeans of all time as he played a large part in the foundation of a Europe to embrace all countries both in the East and the West, your correspondent Eric Wood puts forward the bizarre theory that our European institutions were invented by Hitler (Letters, April 5).

He seems unaware that Hitler's defeat and with it the end of his plans for an empire based on racial hatred brought about the Council of Europe which safeguards our human rights, and the European Union which has brought us the prosperity and stability we enjoy today.

We were fortunate that in 1945 Sir Winston Churchill, De Gaulle and Adenauer had the vision of a Europe at peace and banished for ever Hitler's repugnant philosophy bringing democracy to all.

The issue of regional government in the UK has nothing to do with our membership of the EU. But, in fact, in Britain with the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament a form of this type of government has been very successful.

Richard O Whiting,

Redman Close, York.

Updated: 10:42 Monday, April 11, 2005