On May 1st, 2004, the European Union (EU) carried out the most comprehensive enlargement since its establishment in 1957 with the accession of eight Central- and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) as well as Malta and Cyprus. Within this enlarged EU two major political aims were set up, namely...

In March 2000 the European Council of Lisbon introduced the 'open method of co-ordination' (OMC) as a new policy instrument to tackle politically sensitive areas, namely social inclusion, old-age security, health, and long-term care. This paper gives a view over the most important developments...