I was in Brussels two weeks ago at a meeting of my European political party, the Christian Democrats, at which all of the member states and applicant countries were represented and we heard a pessimistic view of the Convention in terms of where matters were at. However, there has been a difference in two weeks – two weeks is a long time in politics. The difference is that Valéry Giscard d'Estaing has started to listen to people. He did not listen for the past six months but in the past month or so he has begun to do so, largely because of the way in which the Convention is structured. This is the first time we have had a procedure whereby discussions on the future of Europe are in public – the Intergovernmental Conference consists of private discussions. Representatives of this Parliament have been involved in the process as have representatives of the main political families in Europe, the Social Democrats, Liberals, Christian Democrats and other parties. That composition has been crucial in ensuring people like Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and the Establishment of Europe listened to what those of us in politics were trying to say. I came out of that meeting two weeks ago in Brussels pessimistic but I am much more optimistic today when I note the draft compromises made in the past two weeks. It has been a good move.