Abstract

The aim of the work is an analysis of the impact that the Open Method of Coordination (hereinafter referred to as 'MAC') has on what we shall call 'form of Union', understood as the whole of the relations existing among the 'components' (national and EU institutions, poles of government and citizens) of the 'multilevel' constitutional system. Involved is an application with regard to supranationality of the numerous comparative law studies concerning the impact of welfare policies on the form of State, especially on the vertical relations between centre and periphery. The first part reconstructs MAC dynamics, while the second part is devoted to analysis of the incidence thereof on various ambits connected with the life of the Union, ranging from the role of the national and supranational institutions to the question of the erosion of competencies, the participation of citizens in European policies and the role of the Court of Justice.