26 MAY 1990, Page 27

Subsidiarity

Sir: Noel Malcolm, in his EEC piece (Politics, 12 May), gives a somewhat opa- que definition of `subsidiarity'; I have always understood it to mean, `No higher authority shall undertake any function that can be discharged by a lower.' This may well be why the Swiss, who seem to give effect to this principle much more than most, have never, for example, seen the need for a ministry of education.

John Papworth

24 Abercorn Place, London NW8