In the plenary and working sessions I have said that the use of the word "federal" describes a process, not the nature of the Union. That is exactly what it does. The word "federal" is written with a lower case 'f' in the second part of the sentence. I have suggested that if the second part of the sentence was struck out, Article 1.1 would become much more impressive and clear. A number of states have argued that we should be talking about an ever-closer Union. This is language from the older treaties on which there will have to be a compromise. It is a tactical error to get too hung up on the issue of federalism because it has brought the federalists back out. If I was a federalist, I would be very unhappy with the first 16 articles.