An ongoing political discussion regarding the institutions will need to conclude before we reach final agreement. While we support the further extension of qualified majority voting, with co-decision by the European Parliament, there remains a small number of areas where unanimity must be maintained. One of these areas, identified by Ireland at the outset, is taxation which is central to the relationship between citizens and their governments. While I am glad the convention draft retains the need for unanimous decisions in almost all areas of taxation, the Government will continue to oppose any departure from this principle and will want to see a watertight final text.