20
4. The OMC concerning the enlargement process
In view of the numerous problems that social security systems are facing, e.g. the low rate of em-
ployment or the demographic change in current member states and also in candidate countries,
one main issue for the latter is their active participation in the OMC already before joining the
EU. So far, candidate countries are not involved in this process at all. They do not have an official
observer status, even though the Council and the Commission call for involvement of all relevant
stakeholders in the OMC process. These stakeholders are the EU and the member states, as well
as the social partners and civil society.77 The OMC is meant to improve transparency and deepen
democratic participation - key objectives of the EU, as indicated in the White Paper on European
Governance.78 Indeed, the Commission points out that co-operation on social protection will also
be developed. In accordance with the conclusions of the Gothenburg Council, the Commission
will start covering candidate countries' initiatives as from its 2003 Annual Synthesis Report.79
However, in the area of old-age security this kind of EU activity seems to be new, so that not
much thought has been given to the question of how exactly the candidate countries can be inte-
grated into these tasks. In view of that, no progress can be observed in this area so far. Neverthe-
less, concerning the enlargement there are some issues to be discussed.
The first issue to be raised is, whether the common objectives, working methods, the discussed
social indicators and benchmarks are finally fixed by now, or whether they will be restated as a
consequence of the enlargement. Moreover, what are the expectations of candidate countries on
the OMC? How do they understand the OMC as a whole, and how do they assess the broad com-
mon objectives, working methods and indicators? How can candidate countries prove the
sustainability and adequacy of their old-age security systems to the Community? These unan-
swered questions show that candidate countries are not involved in the current debates - they are
even left without detailed information on the process. All these points lead to the question of
whether candidate countries should be invited soon to participate actively in the OMC.
A further question is, whether the OMC will be an appropriate instrument to prepare candidate
countries for joining the European Union. Close co-operation between EU member states and
candidate countries in the area of old-age security will allow to share experiences, learn from each
other, and encourage each other to develop sustainable old-age security systems for the future.
Early involvement of candidate countries into the ongoing OMC process of old-age security re-
As an example see Commission of the European Communities (2000: 8); Commission of the European
Communities (2001: 12); European Council (2000: 8) and several further official documents of the EU.
78
Cf. Commission of the European Communities (2001: 10 ff.). Indeed, to prepare the candidate countries for
joining the EES, the Commission has developed close co-operation with them, as indicated by the Joint As-
sessment Papers (JAPs), which are a diagnosis of the labour market situation and trends and a proposal for
policy reform. They define the policy framework for preparing future European Social Fund (ESF) inter-
vention. Furthermore JAPs contribute to identifying policy priorities for the pre-accession strategy and
PHARE support. Building on the experience of the Employment JAPs, the Commission has invited candi-
date countries to embark in co-operation on social inclusion/poverty in 2002, with a view to involve them
in EU efforts based on the OMC.
79
Cf. European Commission (2001: 42 f.).