Subnational Authorities and the Open Method of Coordination: A New Opportunity or the Same Old Community

Abstract

The Open Method of Coordination (OMC) is currently under intense academic scrutiny, with attempts to assess its nature as a mode of governance (De la Porte et al 2001; Dehousse 2002; Scott and Trubek 2002) and the extent to which it can be seen as a ‘new’ mode of governance (Laffan and Shaw 2005, Smismans 2006). The OMC does exhibit some clearly different characteristics from what is termed the classic ‘Community Method’; however, with the recent re-launch of the Lisbon Strategy emphasising the need for streamlining and greater coordination of EU policies, the distinctions between ‘old’ and ‘new’ governance are becoming ever more blurred.