Assessing The Open Method Of Coordination: Institutional Design And National Influence Of Eu Social Policy Coordination (work And Welfare In Europe)

In 2009, the Public Policy and Management Institute (Vilnius, Lithuania) was awarded the EU tender (Service Order No. VC/2009/0880) to assess the effectiveness and impact of the Open Method of Coordination in Social Protection and Social Inclusion (Social OMC) both at EU level and in its Member States. While the project officially ended in 2011, a core group of the research team continued working on the issues, collecting further empirical evidence, discussing the findings, and developing the arguments. As a result, we produced this collective volume, which summarizes, reorganizes -and extends -the findings of the official report in order to make the contents available to the wider social science and policy communities. The three editors have contributed equally to the production of this volume, and are, therefore, listed in alphabetical order. Jonathan Zeitlin is the lead author of Chapter 1, while Chapter 2 is equally co-authored. Since most of the material gathered for this volume required the cooperation of practitioners and stakeholders involved in the Social OMC, we would like to sincerely thank all the interviewees in the EU institutions and the Member States for their time and efforts. Without their involvement, neither the project nor this book could have been completed. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the participants in several seminars and roundtable discussions that were organized to present and review our findings. We also benefited significantly from discussions with and advice from Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Institutional Design and National Influence of EU Social Policy Coordination: Advancing a Contradictory Debate....Pages 1-15 Tracing the Social OMC from Its Origins to Europe 2020....Pages 16-39 Is the Social OMC Fit for Purpose? Adequacy and Institutional Design, 2006–2010....Pages 40-86 An OMC for All Policies: Is Belgium (still) the Best Pupil in the Class?....Pages 87-113 The Social OMC in France: The Realm of the Happy Few?....Pages 114-137 The Social OMC in Germany: Slow but Steady?....Pages 138-160 The Social OMC in Denmark: European Ideas Meet Domestic Politics....Pages 161-180 The Social OMC in the UK: Beyond Cheap Talk?....Pages 181-202 The Social OMCs at Work: Identifying and Explaining Variations in National Use and Influence....Pages 203-233 Back Matter....Pages 234-269 Based on the findings of a large-scale, comparative research project, this book systematically assesses the institutional design and national influence of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) on Social Inclusion and Social Protection, at the European Union (EU) level and in ten EU Member States. Besides offering novel empirical and theoretical insights into the operation and impact of the OMC, the book presents an up-to-date perspective on the future of social policy coordination within the Europe 2020 Strategy. The book is required reading for anyone concerned with understanding the contribution of new forms of governance to the past and future development of Social Europe Based on the findings of a large-scale, comparative research project, this volume systematically assesses the institutional design and national influence of the Open Method of Coordination in Social Inclusion and Social Protection (pensions and health/long-term care), at the European Union level and in ten EU Member States.