Main provisions of The Amsterdam Treaty

Strengthening of commitment to fundamental rights

Strengthening of commitment to fundamental rights

Provision to suspend membership rights of states which flout democratic rights

Extension to all member states of social provisions of Maastricht

Employment chapter providing common monitoring of states' jobs policies

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Commitment to fighting discrimination, as well as racism and xenophobia

Provision to allow positive action to redress sexual discrimination and mainstreaming of equality issues in Union policies

Commitment to fight social exclusion

Commitment to environmental sustainability and mainstreaming of the issue in all Union policies

Enhanced commitment to consumer rights

Right to communicate with the EU institutions in Irish

Common foreign and security policy

New foreign policy planning and early warning unit

Re-organisation of EU's diplomatic troika

New foreign policy supremo - "Mr/Ms CFSP" - to work with Presidency

Provision for military role for the EU for the first time, in humanitarian, peacekeeping, and "peacemaking" tasks

Closer links with the Western European Union which will carry out military operations for the EU using Nato assets

Right of non-WEU states like Ireland to participate fully in such operations or to opt out

Commitment to the "progressive framing of a common defence policy which might lead to a common defence" should a summit so decide

Agreement that when strategic decisions are taken unanimously at summits, their implementation can be carried out on a majority basis

An area of freedom, security and justice

Reinforced police, customs and judicial co-operation in fight against drugs, organised crime and trafficking in people

Commitment to gradual "approximation" of laws in such areas as definitions of crime and sentencing policy

Incorporation of the Schengen agreement on passport-free travel into the treaty with opt-outs for Ireland and Britain

Commitment to move after five years to common decisions, mostly by qualified majority, on immigration, asylum, visa policies, with opt-outs for Britain and Ireland

Explicit recognition of the Irish-British common travel area

Possibility of opt-ins by Irish and British to any or all of the above

Institutions

Simplification of legislative procedures to three with stronger role for MEPs

Strengthening of role of President of the Commission

Agreement that when EU expands beyond 20 will look again at right of each country to a commissioner

Small extension of non-veto voting in Council of Ministers

Agreement in principle to re-balance voting in Council of Ministers in favour of under-represented larger countries

"Flexibility"

Strict conditions on when, in the absence of unanimity, groups of member states may go ahead with projects on their own using Union facilities and structures