Amsterdam will create a Union responsive to people's needs

So much of the debate surrounding the ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty has focused on presentational issues and procedures that there is now a real risk of overlooking the substantial progress it represents in terms of the development of the European Union.

In my view we need to look at the treaty in a different way from its predecessors. The big issue in the Single European Act in 1987 was the creation of the Single Market, and in the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 it was the setting up of Economic and Monetary Union.

The Amsterdam Treaty is less concerned with such grand projects, and more with matters of interest in the day-to-day lives of people. It sets out new ways of involving them and offers new and binding guarantees of their rights. Amsterdam signals changes of style and substance which will create a Union more in tune with people's needs.

Look at how the treaty addresses the vital issues of jobs and unemployment. People throughout Europe have long seen this as their single biggest political concern. And yet, notwithstanding demands that it should do more, the EU had in the past little power to respond directly on employment matters.

Now, after Amsterdam, member-states have set common objectives on employment. They have agreed to submit for assessment annual national plans to boost employment and attack the root causes of unemployment. Moreover, they have to do so in advance of adoption of the treaty. This is evidence of a shared commitment to promoting a high level of employment. It has already ensured that national governments have become more focused on tackling unemployment.

Look at how powerful the Maastricht criteria for achieving Economic and Monetary Union have been. The Amsterdam employment process will, over time, also have a real positive impact on the lives of millions of Europeans. Irish people, currently unemployed or who have suffered from unemployment, have particular reason to support this development.

Look also at equality of opportunity between women and men, an area where the EU has been an important force for change. The Commission has developed an impressive array of legal and policy measures to promote equality.

The Amsterdam Treaty adds several new tools, most notably the requirement that EU policies right across the board should act positively for equality. This is a formal treaty endorsement of the "mainstreaming" of equal opportunities, an approach which the Commission has been developing for several years in partnership with women's activists and the European Parliament.

Its implications for women are potentially immense. Structural funds, the CAP, all Community policies must act positively on equal opportunities. Already the employment process, to which I referred earlier, requires member-states to tackle the particular difficulties that women face in the labour market. This is a real breakthrough. Anyone who says that the Amsterdam Treaty doesn't do much for women, is clearly unfamiliar with its provisions.

Something similar can be seen with the new provisions on crime and policing. Without doubt crime, international fraud and drug-trafficking rank high among the concerns of European countries, including Ireland. Rightly or wrongly, there is a view that the new openness of borders within the EU makes it easier for criminals to operate.

Amsterdam responds to that fear by ensuring that governments work together against terrorism, organised crime, crimes against children, drug-and arms-trafficking, and international fraud and corruption. It does not mean that the Union has taken over responsibility for any aspect of policing; it has simply set up mechanisms for the member-states to co-operate better, in practical ways, to fight crime as people clearly want and expect.

Listening to people, involving them and dealing with the issues which matter to them - this is what Amsterdam is all about. The point is further echoed in improved provisions on public health, on action against poverty and social exclusion, on consumer rights and the environment.

The treaty contains two provisions which will go further in addressing directly the matter of people's rights. For the first time, there will be an obligation to respect important principles of liberty, democracy, human rights and basic freedoms.

A second provision will allow the EU to act against discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion and belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.

Some profess to see this latter provision as sinister. This is sheer nonsense. The Council may only act under this provision on the basis of unanimity. If Ireland doesn't agree, it can use its veto. Many remarks in the debate, on this issue, have been wildly misleading.

They are insulting to the many interest groups in Ireland - for example, representatives of older people and people with disabilities - who want to use this provision to seek sensible and fully justifiable improvements in their rights.

In order to succeed they will have to campaign, both nationally and with their colleagues across Europe, to persuade all member-states, including the most reluctant, to move forward. In other words, any progress under this provision will depend on the work of committed and determined activists.

Respect for people also involves taking account of their fears and anxieties. The treaty reflects the misgivings and concerns of certain countries, not least Ireland. A common defence policy will only happen - Amsterdam is crystal-clear on this - if each member-state makes an explicit decision to opt in "in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements".

In Ireland, this means that there must be a referendum. Irish voters will ultimately decide whether or not they want to be part of such a common defence policy. The Amsterdam Treaty contains that guarantee.

Finally, it would be regrettable if the treaty failed to receive as ringing an endorsement from Irish people as previous treaty changes. The benefits of our membership of the EU have never been so clear.

The new prosperity and confidence palpable everywhere in Ireland owes a lot to European funding, inward investment and access to the Single Market, as well as the sense of being part of a wider Europe. And there is now, throughout Europe, a new and very real interest in Ireland's achievements of recent years. We are being held up as a model and are seen as having much to contribute to the development of the dynamic economy that Europe needs.

We have gained much from our membership of the EU and will continue to gain from full engagement in the future. We have given much to Europe, but we have very much more to give. Next Friday we should say Yes to the Amsterdam Treaty and to our long-term commitment to Europe.

Padraig Flynn is European Commissioner with responsibility for Employment and Social Affairs