Readers reply: Some people want to break up the EU. Why not break up the US?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions looks at secessionary movements on both sides of the pond

• Answer the latest question: What is the true Breakfast of Champions?

If it’s wrong, as some would say, for European countries to come together as a fully federal European Union, rather than individual states, why is it right for the US to be a federation rather than separate states? It always strikes me that the EU gets unfairly criticised for a system that was established over the Atlantic many years back. The US hasn’t looked back, but has become powerful as a result of being an umbrella for smaller entities. Just imagine if each state needed its own army, air force and currency, with its own customs and border controls not to mention trade tariffs! There’d be no White House and no Congress. Why is it so wrong for European countries to want similar strength, coming together as a union? Howard Phillips, Lisbon

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