COMMENT From Mr Stephen Reynolds.
Sir, Further to Quentin Peel’s cogent comments about the role of president of the European Council (“Britain sets a high bar for incomprehension in Europe”, Saturday October 31): the confusion about the job description of “Mr Europe” appears to stem largely from a mistranslation. This arises because of the two possible meanings of the French term “président”. It can of course refer to a head of state, with all the powers that this implies, in which case the correct English translation is indeed “president”. However, the term is also used to refer merely to a chairman, for example of a board of directors.
