Abstract
The 'Open Method of Co-ordination' was first introduced in the European arena at the Lisbon Summit of March 2000. To reach the European Union's goal of becoming 'the world's most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy, capable of sustainable economic growth with better jobs and greater social cohesion', a new method of intervention was needed. The Open Method of Co-ordination (OMC) was, thus, presented as the appropriate tool for an integrated approach toward achieving an economic and social renewal. This method is now applied in the employment field and in the fight against poverty and social exclusion. Other sensitive fields, such as pensions and immigration, have been identified as future areas where OMC could be applied. Social partners at the European level have also been called to develop their own experience of OMC. They are now in charge of benchmarking best practices as regard to life-long learning and the quality of industrial relations in Europe. As the Commission states in its European Governance White Paper, OMC is aimed at completing or reinforcing Community action, in particular when there is little scope for legislative solutions. This new form of intervention is not to replace traditional means. Rather, the European Union (EU) would play a role consistent with its supranational position. The objective is to organize a learning process to allow the exchange of experience and best practices. OMC is gaining ground in the European polity. Since its introduction, many areas that, until then, were considered falling under the sovereignty of Member States are now tackled at a European level. Some commentators even define OMC as a possible new way of Building Social Europe. For the time being, it seems that one of OMC's main interests remains in the new approach to legislation that about it allows. OMC shapes a form of supranational governance by mean of soft regulation, providing a dynamic that is interesting to look at, not only from aEuropean perspective but also from an international one. The purpose of this article is to analyse this new tool of intervention and underscore its potential to offer a model of supranational governance. The Open Method of Co-ordination is composed of different phases, each one deeply marked by a common feature: co-ordination. The very structure of OMC relies on the presence of a supranational actor able to co-ordinate. But in order to grasp its importance, one cannot consider OMC only from the Lisbon Summit. To have a fully-fledged comprehension of this new regulatory tool, it is necessary to look at the whole development of the European Employment Strategy. It is in the field of employment that this method finds its premises and was first developed. With this background, it is possible to see from where the different components of OMC come, and also to give a clearer picture of the fundamentals of this new form of governance. The reminder of this paper is organized as follows. Starting from the Delors White paper of 1993, it analyses the contributions that each European Summit has made to the framing of a strategy that was first confined to the employment field and, later, became a method applicable to any sensitive area. OMC is an interesting tool to look at, in particular, in considering new forms of supranational governance in a global context.
Published Version
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