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Open Method of Co-ordination

What is the Open Method of Coordination?

The Open Method of Coordination is a ‘soft-law’ method of coordinating policy between EU member states, especially in areas where there is no mandate for the EU to make legislation. The EU social inclusion strategies are based on the Open Method of Coordination process.

For the EAPN, the most important of these areas is the Open Method of Coordination in the areas of Social Inclusion and Social Protection, which brings together policy processes in the areas of:

  • Social Inclusion.
  • Health and long term.
  • Pensions.


Wikipedia provides a comprehensive and useful overview of the OMC:

“The open method of coordination or OMC is a relatively new and intergovernmental means of governance in the European Union, based on the voluntary cooperation of its member states.

The open method rests on soft law mechanisms such as guidelines and indicators, benchmarking and sharing of best practice. This means that there are no official sanctions for laggards. Rather, the method’s effectiveness relies on a form of peer pressure and naming and shaming, as no member states wants to be seen as the worst in a given policy area.

The OMC was devised as a tool in policy areas which remain a priority for national governments. It was first applied in EU employment policy, as defined in the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997, although it was not called by this name at the time. It was officially named, defined and endorsed at the Lisbon Council for the realm of social policy. It has been applied in the European employment strategy, social inclusion, pensions, immigration and asylum and its use has also been suggested for health and education as well as environmental affairs. The OMC was frequently debated in the European Convention.

The OMC is more intergovernmental in nature than the traditional means of policy-making in the EU: the so-called community method. Because it is a decentralised approach largely implemented by the member states and supervised by the Council of the European Union, the role of the European Commission and the European Parliament is comparatively weak. However, the exact nature of the process varies greatly in the different policy areas in which the open method is applied.

Generally, the OMC works in stages. First, the Council of Ministers agrees on policy goals. Member states then translate guidelines into national and regional policies. Thirdly, specific benchmarks and indicators to measure best practice are agreed upon. Finally, results are monitored and evaluated.

Historically, the OMC can be seen as a reaction to the EU’s economic integration in the 1990s. This process reduced the member states’ options in the field of employment policy. But they were also weary of delegating more powers to the European institutions and thus designed the OMC as an alternative to the existing EU modes of governance.”

Resources on the OMC