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		Letter to the Editor Leicester Mercury - Wednesday, 8th November 2006 Dear Sir, Mr. S. Wild (letters, Nov 7th) thinks that "the euro is brilliant, but perhaps too modern for the likes of Mr. Helmer". He is wrong -- it is not a modern idea at all. In fact the first monetary union was the Latin Monetary Union, founded in 1865 by France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland, who were soon joined by eight other European countries. That union had collapsed by 1927. Since then there have been repeated attempts at fixed exchange rate mechanisms, including the Gold Standard, Bretton Woods, the European monetary system (EMS) and the "snake". Every single one of them has failed, and every one has made its participants poorer than they would otherwise have been. The euro has not quite failed yet, but the mood has turned negative. Five years ago it was heresy to suggest that the euro might fail. Today serious economic commentators are asking when, not if, it will fail, and speculating on which member-state might be the first to leave. The smart money is on Italy. The euro is certainly following the pattern of previous monetary unions by making its members poorer. When we were being urged to join the euro, we were told that if we stayed out we would lose inward investment, the Pound would be volatile and unemployment would rise. Every one of those predictions was wrong. The Pound has been more stable than the euro. Inward investment is strong in the UK and weak in the euro-zone. Unemployment is twice as high in the euro-zone as in the UK, and euroland growth is slower. Brilliant, Mr. Wild? I don't think so. We were absolutely right to stay out of the euro, and anyone suggesting we should join now would have to be nuts. Roger Helmer Conservative MEP for Leicestershire