The Open Method of Co-ordination1

Abstract

The number of articles and books on new form(s) of governance in the EU is blossoming. The Open Method of Co-ordination (OMC) has often been portrayed as one of the best example. This paper addresses three inter-related questions by presenting two different policy areas: the European Employment Strategy (EES), and poverty and social exclusion OMC (OMCincl). First, why have social topics (employment, pensions, poverty, health care) arrived at the EU level? Second, could we label the different versions of OMC as new forms of governance? And if so, is OMC a fertile ground for an informal form of governance? Our approach is to consider the EES and the OMC as classic bargaining processes with structural possibilities (the so-called openness) to develop a more deliberative dimension (which could increase the potential for informal exchanges). These two dimensions are not (necessarily) conflicting or exclusive but could be also complementary. Focusing on informal governance and the question of legitimacy, two processes will be analysed through a historical approach, which allows us to distinguish the big moment when the Member States will want to (re-)control the agenda and set the objectives from the intermediate period when all actors and institutions (re-)interpret the rules and try to modify/complement them.