Indeed, you have been following the debate. This was Ireland's major institutional preoccupation. But it was successfully fought off, for now, by the small states. Big countries are due to lose their second commissioner. The winners are MEPs who get greater powers to decide legislation, and the President of the Commission who gets a hand in choosing his team and then in cracking the whip over them.
National governments retain the veto in areas of vital national interest.
There are new sections on jobs, the environment, human rights, consumer rights, equality, public health - but much of it just puts into treaty form what is already EU policy. You may be hearing a lot more talk of EU action on jobs, but that is largely because there is a new political will. The treaty requires member states to submit regular plans for the restructuring of their labour markets. These are then assessed against guidelines set by the Council of Ministers - the hope is that collective monitoring will help keep pressure on states to reform. Amsterdam also reinforces the co-operation between EU authorities and police forces in the fight against organised crime, drugs and the trafficking in children.