The Commission is not going to contest a sovereign government's established programmes and electoral mandate. That said, however, we know the Commission's mind and the Commission knows our mind through the troika process. The recommendations are not binding, although the framework of economic governance increasingly ensures there are interconnections which enhance the conditionality to some extent. The country-specific recommendations are no longer the Commission's once the sectoral councils and European Council endorse them. The preparatory committees have done their work on the Commission's initial presentation.

The Secretary General referred to the European Parliament elections that are taking place this year. These elections will only increase the difficulty of allowing member states sufficient time to react to, correct and adjust the Commission's recommendations. The Commission can lack sensitivity in the framing of its recommendations and member states review recommendations collegially and, in many cases, adjust and modify them prior to their adoption by the Council. The problem is that the timescale for such deliberation will be incredibly tight this year. As a consequence of the European Parliament elections, the Commission will not present its recommendations until 3 June. The EPSCO Council will meet on 10 June, ECOFIN is meeting immediately thereafter and the European Council will meet a fortnight later.

Three different spheres of activity must also be borne in mind. First, the deputy permanent representative and the ambassador in Brussels deal directly with the Commission through the bilateral process. Second, the Department of the Taoiseach co-ordinates across Government on the semester. Third, in respect of our own Council we work with the Departments of Social Protection and Education and Skills. As an iterative process, we can anticipate developments and engage with the Commission to clarify recommendations as we proceed. We hope that will help should any strings be encountered.