Guided in no small measure by our recent experience, we are stressing within the convention the need for an approach which takes full account of what people feel about and expect from the Union. Our approach is informed by a sense that Irish people are broadly comfortable with the current distribution of competence between member states and the Union. They do not want to see massive steps forward towards increasing integration, nor do they wish to retreat to simple inter-governmentalism. We believe that the Irish people are also broadly happy with the way in which the institutions work and do not want to see the current careful balances between them upset or set aside.