<p>In the light of the debate on the future of the European Union, a debate on new and better governance has started. One of the subjects of this debate is the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). It was initiated at the Lisbon European Council in 2000 as one of the ways to reach the strategic goals set for the EU at the same summit. Policy coordination was however applied in European policy- making before the Lisbon European Council. In the area of employment these activities had been operating for some years, and the OMC was created with the European Employment Strategy (EES) as a model. Now the OMC is also operating in the area of social inclusion policy, and a number of other policy areas. As its use is being extended, scholars as well as practitioners are studying it to determine its role and functions in EU governance. </p><p>This thesis aims at examining the open method of coordination, in an effort to position it in the European governance structure and discuss if it can be a sign of an emerging new mode of European governance. </p><p>Using a comparative approach, this thesis combines three methodologies; documentation analysis, interviews and case-studies. The analytical framework consists of existing modes of governance, as defined by Helen Wallace (2000). These are complemented with one more mode of governance. A discussion on governance in general and European governance in particular is also part of the analytical framework. </p><p>The OMC is studied by its definition and is further discussed from the view of the different European institutions. Finally a case study of its application in employment policy and social inclusion policy is presented. These findings are then set in relation to the governance modes in the analytical framework, in order to define and explain the OMC. A discussion of the notions of democracy and legitimacy is also held. The conclusions hold that the OMC is an interesting mix of multi-level governance, intensive transgovernmentalism and policy coordination and benchmarking. It also has interesting features of the innovative mode of network governance. This concludes that the OMC does not only build on innovative governance, but is an interesting balance between multi-level and intergovernmental governance. It is also based on notions of legitimacy rather than democracy. </p><p>Based on the findings in this thesis, the OMC should be seen as a sign of a new way of thinking about European governance. Its role should however not be exaggerated as most actors are very clear on it not being an alternative to ordinary Community action, and it should be seen as a complement rather than a substitute. The fact that the Convention on the future of Europe did not include the OMC into the draft constitutional treaty shows a somewhat ambivalent position towards it. It is concluded that the specific mix of governance features in the OMC is best served outside the treaty at this point.</p>

In the light of the debate on the future of the European Union, a debate on new and better governance has started. One of the subjects of this debate is the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). It was initiated at the Lisbon European Council in 2000 as one of the ways to reach the strategic goals set for the EU at the same summit. Policy coordination was however applied in European policy- making before the Lisbon European Council. In the area of employment these activities had been operating for some years, and the OMC was created with the European Employment Strategy (EES) as a model. Now the OMC is also operating in the area of social inclusion policy, and a number of other policy areas. As its use is being extended, scholars as well as practitioners are studying it to determine its role and functions in EU governance. This thesis aims at examining the open method of coordination, in an effort to position it in the European governance structure and discuss if it can be a sign of an emerging new mode of European governance. Using a comparative approach, this thesis combines three methodologies; documentation analysis, interviews and case-studies. The analytical framework consists of existing modes of governance, as defined by Helen Wallace (2000). These are complemented with one more mode of governance. A discussion on governance in general and European governance in particular is also part of the analytical framework. The OMC is studied by its definition and is further discussed from the view of the different European institutions. Finally a case study of its application in employment policy and social inclusion policy is presented. These findings are then set in relation to the governance modes in the analytical framework, in order to define and explain the OMC. A discussion of the notions of democracy and legitimacy is also held. The conclusions hold that the OMC is an interesting mix of multi-level governance, intensive transgovernmentalism and policy coordination and benchmarking. It also has interesting features of the innovative mode of network governance. This concludes that the OMC does not only build on innovative governance, but is an interesting balance between multi-level and intergovernmental governance. It is also based on notions of legitimacy rather than democracy. Based on the findings in this thesis, the OMC should be seen as a sign of a new way of thinking about European governance. Its role should however not be exaggerated as most actors are very clear on it not being an alternative to ordinary Community action, and it should be seen as a complement rather than a substitute. The fact that the Convention on the future of Europe did not include the OMC into the draft constitutional treaty shows a somewhat ambivalent position towards it. It is concluded that the specific mix of governance features in the OMC is best served outside the treaty at this point.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the impact of European Employment Strategy (EES) on social partnership at national level. Increasing the participation of trade unions, employer organisations and other social partners in policy formulation and implementation is one of the EES objectives. A comparative study has been conducted on Ireland and Greece in order to analyse to what extent this objective has been achieved through EES, which is an Open Method of Coordination. Historical institutionalism provides the theoretical framework for this thesis. The impact of EES is demonstrated at two levels. First level change indicates change in discourse. Second level shows change in social partners

No description available.

The diploma thesis deals with the use of the open method of coordination in education policy of the European Union. It views the open method of coordination as a tool based on exchanges of good practice and on mutual learning processes. The aim of this thesis is to determine whether the European Union managed to create an effective coordination mechanism through the open method of coordination in the field where the EU can only intervene to support the action of Member States. Research focuses on the Education and Training 2010/2020 work programme whose origin and implementation is connected to the use of the open method of coordination in education policy. The effectiveness of the open method of coordination in the field of education and training is assessed through two criteria. The thesis examines whether the method contributes to achieving greater convergence towards the main EU goals in education and training and whether it support spreading of good practice between Member States. The ability of the open method of coordination to contribute to greater convergence towards the main goals is assessed through European benchmarks of the Education and Training 2010/2020 work programme and through the convergence capacity - the ability of the method to converge education policies of Member States in the...

This research project seeks to gauge the autonomous power of the European Commission within the Open Method of Coordination (OMC), a new mode of governance coined at the Lisbon European Council in March 2000 and based on the principle of the voluntary cooperation of Member States. Two cases form the basis of this inquiry, namely, quality in work, a policy issue addressed under the banner of the European Employment Strategy, and child poverty and social exclusion, a key item on the agenda of the OMC for Social Inclusion. A primary impetus at the heart of this project is one of ontological pluralism. Rejecting a zero-sum interpretation of the rationalist/constructivist debate, this study constitutes a plea for a conversation across paradigms. The domain-of-application model employed here works by preserving the integrity of individual theories while specifying a particular scope condition under which constructivist and rationalist insights are likely to prevail. Selecting two cases on the basis of the critical scope condition of issue sensitivity, a central postulate informing this integrative research design is that high issue sensitivity (quality in work) invites strategic interaction among pre-constituted social actors driven by a behavioural logic of utility-maximization, while low issue sensitivity (child poverty and social exclusion) allows for a fundamentally norm-guided behaviour. Concretely, in effecting this theoretical dialogue, two sets of causal hypotheses are examined. On the one hand, rational choice institutionalism (principal-agent theory) offers a number of suppositions about the Commission’s institutional power, that is, its ability to transform the conditions of action of self-seeking national governments. On the other hand, sociological institutionalism conceptualizes the Commission’s productive power (i.e. its power to constitute the interests and identities of individual agents) through the lens of discourse analysis. Testing theoretical predictions against collected data makes plain the superior explanatory value of independent variables and causal mechanisms of rationalist lineage in capturing the essence of the Commission’s autonomous power in the case of quality in work and the congruity of sociological institutionalism’s original conjectures in the area of child poverty and social exclusion. Crucially, this strict correspondence corroborates the pertinence of the critical scope condition of issue sensitivity in delineating the explanatory ambit of both theories and attests to the co-existence of different forms of autonomous power wielded by the Commission within the framework of the OMC.

AKM DIEGIMO GALIMYBĖS MAŽINANT SOCIALINĘ ATSKIRTĮ LIETUVOJE SANTRAUKA Lietuvos viešoji politika, skirta socialinei atskirčiai mažinti, yra neefektyvi. Žemą Lietuvos socialinės politikos efektyvumą įtakoja nedideli finansiniai ištekliai, kuriuos LR Vyriausybė skiria socialinės politikos įgyvendinimui. Taip pat šios politikos neefektyvumą patvirtina savivaldybių socialinės veiklos statistinių rodiklių analizė. Remiantis šia analize patvirtinama, kad egzistuoja ryškūs skirtumai tarp savivaldybių, jų vykdoma socialinė politika yra deharmonizuota, vykdoma nekryptingai. Socialinės politikos efektyvumą mažina ir tai, kad Lietuvoje reglamentuota socialinių paslaugų vykdymo tvarka įtakoja regioninių skirtumų atsiradimą ir gilėjimą. Remiantis kitų ES šalių patirtimi, socialinės politikos efektyvumą gali pagerinti AKM diegimas. Siekiant mažinti socialinės politikos ydingus požymius, Lietuvoje taikoma AKM principai: geros patirties sklaida, decentralizacija, visų suinteresuotųjų įtraukimas į socialinės politikos procesus ir kt. Remiantis šiuo metodu galima apibendrintai ir tiksliai apžvelgti, efektyviai įvertinti, planuoti ir įgyvendinti valdžios institucijų ir kitų socialinės politikos dalyvių vykdomą socialinę politiką, skatinti valdžios institucijų ir bendruomenės narių bendradarbiavimą sprendžiant socialinės atskirties mažinimo klausimus ir kt. Šie AKM principai taikomi projektuose „Socialinis žemėlapis“ bei „Lietuva be atskirties ir skurdo“ (LabAS). / THE POSSIBILITIES OF OMC IN DECREASING SOCIAL EXCLUSION: THE CASE OF LITHUANIA SUMMARY Lithuanian public policy, intended to decrease social exclusion, is not effective. The effectiveness of social policy is low because Lithuanian Government intends not enough financial reservoir for implementation of social exclusion. Analyses of municipality social work indicators prove that Lithuanian social policy is not effective. This analysis confirms, that exist pronounced differences between municipalities and social policy is disharmonized and implemented in unfocussed way. Effectiveness of social policy is low because the order of pursuing social policy, regulated in Lithuania, influences increase of regional differences. On the strength of EU nation experience, implementation of OMC can improve effectiveness of social policy. On purpose to decrease flawy features of social policy, Lithuania implements principles of OMC, for instance, good practice, decentralization and cooperation of all interested parties in processes of social policy etc. On the strength of OMC, it is possible to rightly review, effectively rate, plan and implement social policy, promote collaboration between governance and community. Following principles of OMC are using in projects “Social map” and “Lithuania without exclusion and poverty” (LabAS).

This research focuses on an issue that has persisted in Greece over recent decades – long-term youth unemployment. The issue has worsened in the last few years, however, in particular following unprecedented historical times caused by a worldwide economic recession that hit Greece particularly hard. This recession that was triggered by events in the United States in 2008, set off a worldwide recession, the effects of which continue to affect countries like Greece today. It is in this context that the post-secondary graduate unemployment rate in the country soared to 20% in 2010 and has since continued to follow an upward trend. What is more, the Greek economy, with debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio reaching more than 140% in 2010 and 165% in 2011, is not showing signs of improvement. This situation is far from encouraging for unemployed Greek youth. Grounded theory (GT) methodology is undertaken in this study which borrows from both Glaserian and Straussian GT method approaches. A Constructivist Grounded Theory perspective is used to interpret findings as the thesis analyses barriers to employment, understandings and coping mechanisms in relation to Greek graduate unemployment and identifies prospects for the future. Six participants were recruited through convenience sampling and informed research through in depth interviews. Unemployed post-secondary graduates interviewed in this study offered uniquely grounded data to inform my analysis and shared timely information amidst the challenging context of the Greek fiscal crisis. The situation has gained much international attention and opened the door for re-thinking and new possibilities. Given that the economic situation in the Eurozone is inextricably linked to the conditions in its member states, this study considers employment policy in both Greece and the European Union (EU). The thesis concludes by suggesting some potential areas for further research. / Graduate

Contrairement à ses homologues européens, le Royaume-Uni n'a pas adopté en 1989, le texte de la charte communautaire des droits sociaux fondamentaux des travailleurs abrégée charte sociale. Il s'est tenu, jusqu'en 1997, à l'écart des décisions européennes en matière sociale. Au lendemain de son arrivée au pouvoir, le gouvernement de Tony blair a mis fin à cette exception britannique. Le parti travailliste, fervent opposant à l'adhésion du royaume-uni au marché commun dans les années 1970, a pu rallier ses partisans au chapitre social de la construction européenne deux décennies plus tard grâce à cette charte. Depuis, le Royaume-Uni a su démontrer son engagement européen par rapport aux politiques sociales. Il a approuvé le traité d'Amsterdam qui a vu la mise en place de la Stratégie Européenne pour l'Emploi. Pour autant, il reste toujours celui qui incarne en Europe, le « modèle libéral anglo-saxon », en vigueur aux États-Unis. Il est vrai que malgré cette adhésion, les politiques thatchériennes n'ont pas été modifiées en profondeur par le New labour mais juste infléchies et il existe toujours en Europe, une spécificité britannique au niveau de la législation du travail et des relations sociales. Paradoxalement, malgré cette spécificité britannique, le Conseil européen, en 2002, a estimé que les programmes mis en place au Royaume-Uni sont compatibles avec les objectifs européens pour l‘emploi.Ce travail de recherche s'intéresse aux enjeux que représente la Stratégie Européenne pour l'Emploi au Royaume-Uni. Notre analyse nous amènera à mettre en évidence la situation britannique par rapport aux recommandations européennes en matière de politiques pour l'emploi. L'intérêt de ce travail de recherche est de souligner un paradoxe : à la fois comprendre les spécificités du marché du travail britannique, occupant une position unique en Europe mais aussi se rendre compte que les politiques de l'emploi menées au Royaume-Uni sont tout à fait compatibles avec les recommandations européennes et compatibles avec la Stratégie Européenne pour l‘Emploi. / Unlike her European counterparts, Britain did not sign the Social Charter in 1989 and benefited from an opt out of the social rights included in this Charter until 1997. When the first New Labour government came into office, Tony Blair put an end to this British opt out. The Labour Party, which had been against the British entry into the EEC in the seventies, managed to convince its members to change their views on the European Union two decades later thanks to this Charter. By signing the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, the UK adopted the Social Charter and accepted the changes brought by the “Social Chapter” included in the Treaty. The Treaty of Amsterdam also introduced the European Employment Strategy. Since then, the UK has endorsed the Social Charter and implemented a range of UE social measures. Despite social policies, the UK compared to its European partners is considered as “the Anglo-Saxon model” available in the US because Margaret Thacher's economic policies have not been deeply modified and at the European level, there are British particularities as far as labour law and industrial relations are concerned. Yet despite such disparities, the European Council considered in 2002 that the employment policies carried out in the UK were in accordance with the European Employment Strategy. This thesis examines how the European Employment Strategy is operating in the UK. The analysis focuses on how the European guidelines are implemented in the UK labour market regulation. The aim is to shed light on a paradox: on the one hand, the UK labour market has its own specificities which are not similar to other European countries; and on the other, the employment policies pursued in the UK comply with the European guidelines within the European Employment Strategy.

L'objet de la présente thèse est d'analyser l'incidence des politiques menées dans le cadre des systèmes d'éducation et de formation grec et italien afin de se conformer aux exigences de la stratégie de Lisbonne 2000. Le niveau d'influence de la politique de l'UE sur les structures des deux pays et ses effets sur les réformes nationales sont liés à la relation, entre structures nationales et internationales en ce qui concerne les politiques d'éducation et de formation. Les réformes ne sont pas nécessairement le résultat de la politique de l'Union européenne ; elles peuvent également être le résultat de la voie nationale suivie et intervenir indépendamment des politiques européennes. Cela permet de se demander si le changement de la politique nationale est lié aux directives internationales ou s'il est le résultat indépendant de l'évolution de l'État. / The present thesis attempts a policy impact analysis through the Greek and Italian education and training policies undertaken to respond to the Lisbon's Strategy 2000 requirements. The level of influence of the EU policy within the domestic structure of both countries and its dynamic on national reforms is related to the relationship, - level of influence-, between national and international structure as concerns the educational and training policies. Reforms are not necessarily results of the European's Community policy, but they can be results of the national pathway and they would have taken place in any case. The above hypothesis leads to the query if national policy change is linked to the international directives or it is the independent result of the State's development.