Summary The European Union has established an ‘open

method of coordination ’ (OMC) among the member states as a means of pursuing eco-nomic and employment growth coupled with greater social cohesion. The paper analyses the assumptions underlying this strategy, the manner of its operation and its implications for policy learning and for governance. It argues that the OMC has in substantial measure been inspired by the experience of EMU, but that this is a perilous paradigm on which to base social benchmarking and the OMC. Second, it argues that the dynamic development of the OMC will depend cru-cially on the extent of public involvement in scrutinizing the policy areas which politica