HOW ‘SOFT ’ PRESSURE FROM ABOVE AFFECTS THE BOTTOM: EUROPEANIZATION, EMPLOYMENT POLICY AND POLICY (Re)FORMULATION (The Spanish Case)

The Treaty of Amsterdam formalized the idea of a ‘European Employment Strategy’ (EES), a supranational instrument to boost employment rates and European competitiveness. The European strategy is ruled by the ‘Open Method of Coordination ’ (OMC), a new regulatory model for developing the EU social ambit that is not legally binding and is voluntary in nature. The establishment of the annual procedure sets an innovative form of European governance for two reasons. First, since the European Community (EC) was created, Brussels did not have any say about the path that national labor market policy should follow. Thus, the process makes, in some way or another, member States accountable to the EU on employment matters. Second, the EES diverges from traditional forms of EU governance (regulations, decisions and directives)1 by leaving ultimate responsibility for labor market policy in the hands of member States. This EU development could be interpreted by some as a disruption of member States ’ labor market policies and institutions. Moreover, some have argued that the pressure from Europe is too ‘soft’ to be felt by national and sub-national institutions, policies and actors. The launching of the EES begs the question, does the OMC, specifically, the European Employment Strategy, has affected member States ’ labor market policy making processes