Soft harmonisation: the open method of coordination in the European employment strategy

Abstract:

This article examines the regulatory techniques adopted in pursuit of the European Union's Employment Strategy and their constitutional impact. The article argues that, through its creative use of soft law mechanisms, and in particular, the 'open method of coordination', the evolving Employment Strategy has the potential to forge a middle course through the regulatory choices facing the Union, between centralised harmonisation, on the one hand, and mutual recognition or regulatory competition, on the other.