It alarms me to hear apparently responsible people like Mr Crease (Gazette & Herald, June 14) making sweeping statements on such an important issue as the euro and the dangers of missing out on joining.

The euro is not good for Britain. It is a sorry, weak mixture of peseta, lira, drachma, escudo, franc etc. Were it not for the German mark, the euro would be even weaker than it is now. Money, like anything else, is only worth what the market will pay. Ask any farmer.

I am not a farmer, but run a small engineering business that is heavily involved in export to the outside world (Africa, Middle east, Philippines, China) and we do occasionally import.

When we export, we are asked to invoice in dollars. When we import, mainly from China, they want payment in dollars.

There is no doubt that the US dollar is the accepted currency of international trade and will remain so for many years to come.

Germany thrived with a strong mark and low inflation.

Now we are told that our "strong pound" is the root of all our ills, but the pound in truly international terms is not strong. Against the dollar last week it was at its weakest for many years and the dollar is the yardstick used to determine the market value of all major commodities like gold, oil, the pound and even the euro.

When we are joined by Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Turkey etc, this will devalue the euro even more.

Perhaps the answer would be to enlarge the community further to include Israel. At least then we should be able to fall back on the loaves and fishes to keep everyone fed.

BERNARD LONGSTAFF

Amotherby

Updated: 11:28 Thursday, July 05, 2001