The open method of coordination (OMC) has increased the competence of the European Union to regulate areas where the traditional Community legislative processes are weak, or where new areas require coordination of Member State policy, either as part of the spillover of the integration project as a result of economic and monetary union, or as a result of the case law of the European Court of Justice. The OMC is viewed as an aspect of new, experimental governance, which is part of the response by the EU to regulatory shortcomings. This article explores the normative aspects of the OMC using case studies. The article examines the conditions in which the OMC emerges, the conditions upon which it thrives, and the claims that are made for its effectiveness as a new form of governance.

This paper analyses the likely impact of a proposed European Community Directive on part‐time work, on part‐time employment in Britain. The provisions of the Directive, which extends to part‐time employees a number of legal rights currently only available to full‐time employees, are contrasted with the complex and somewhat arbitrary present state of the law in Britain in the area of regulating part‐time work. The impact is examined by testing models which identify the determinants of the supply and demand for part‐time employees. The tests suggest that existing regulations have indeed affected the manner in which part‐time employees are utilised but that there is no evidence that the present partial protective legislation has reduced the level of part‐time employment. Government opposition to the Directive on such grounds may therefore be unfounded.

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