The European Employment Strategy as a new governance paradigm for EU level social policy and its implementation through the Open Method of Coordination

摘要

The paper looks at the European Employment Strategy (EES) within the discourse of New Governance. In particular, I focus on three main research questions. Does the EES, implemented through the 'Open Method of Co-ordination,'(OMC) represent a new mode of policy-making? What is the impact of benchmarking, peer pressure and exchange of best practices at the national level? What is the contribution of the EES and OMC to the extant EC Social Policy regulation in terms of policy transfer? I then suggest a series of amendments to Title VIII and XI of the EC Treaty in order to strengthen the institutional framework of the EES and EC Social Policy sensu lato.