Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I am interested in an insight from the Department of Finance on how the European semester works in practice. We know there are set pieces whereby member states produce certain things and these are discussed by the Commission and at Council level. It happens in parallel across member states. In practice and culturally, has there been a shift after the introduction of the European semester in terms of interaction on a regular basis outside the formal set pieces with the Commission? Does the Commission have more of a hand in the drafting of budgets than was previously the case? Is there more informal contact or contact on a regular basis between civil servants?