FIVE STEPS to EU statehood in the constitution

From EU-Realist I found this article on the consequences of the EU Constitution, and how it will make five fundemental changes shifting the EU into a federal state like the USA. There are only two areas that, according to this analysis, are left untouched and the domain of the member states, defense and taxation. Tony Blair has long sought to create a EU defence structure so that he did not have to go begging to the Americans the next time something like Kosovo blew up. An on taxation the ECJ is already chipping away at the independence of our tax policies, having already grabbed control over certain VAT rules and is trying to take the corporation tax system so these two areas will not remain the jurisdiction of teh memebr states for long.