Innovation in EU governance? Six proposals for taming open co-ordination

Abstract

"Open methods of co-ordination (OMCs) have their origins in European Economic and Employment Policy. Within the framework of the Lisbon Strategy, these mechanisms have developed into a kind of panacea, since a high degree of openness has made them an easily accessible instrument of EU policymaking. Five years down the road, however, open co-ordination is still too 'open' to be a manageable policymaking tool. The hesitation of EU member states towards open co-ordination results primarily from the concept's linguistic and conceptual vagueness. Thus, the most important challenge confronting open co-ordination involves the establishment of a common understanding of the concept as such. The basic idea of open co-ordination - co-ordination rather than legislation; open to various actors, policies, and methods; transparent and open to the public - presents considerable opportunities for EU policymaking. But five years of open coordination have revealed more deficits than positive results. The key to success lies in taming open co-ordination through six measures: clearly defining the overall objective of each respective OMC, developing a methodological tool to identify promising fields of application, enhancing member states' commitment to the OMCs, making open co-ordination more democratic, respecting heterogeneity, and constitutionalising open co-ordination." (author's abstract)