I am a confirmed European. The world is too small for the UK to be isolated. Our most important trading partners are in the European Union - a union that has been at peace for all the 66 years of my life. If you don't think that matters go to Berlin, especially East Berlin which is now vibrant, and visit the Russian military cemetery where thousands upon thousands of Russian soldiers were laid to rest - then remember the thousands upon thousands of other Europeans who perished in the second world war.
But the European Union surely needs reform - too much bureaucracy; too much petty legislation; too little connection to you and me, the ordinary citizen; too many politicians with inflated egos; too little understanding of each other's cultures, cultures that should be nurtured and preserved rather than standardised and subsumed in the greater Europe project. And, of course, not enough budget responsibility in some parts. For those of us who believe in compromise in government, our own coalition government seems to be working, albeit in a harsh economic climate. So why didn't the same spirit prevail at the Eurosummit where David Cameron exercised a veto? Was he a poor negotiator, or did the Merkozy axis refuse to compromise?