Book excerpt: This book originates from the research project 'New discourses in labour law' held at the European University Institute. A detailed analysis of part-time work regulation is presented for seven European countries, in order to ascertain how internal domestic choices of the legislatures have merged into the 'Open method of co-ordination'. The impact of European employment policies is considered in parallel with the implementation of the Directive on part-time work, thus providing a complete overview of both soft and hard law mechanisms available to national policy-makers. In this 2004 work, the interaction between law and policy emerges as a dynamic and constantly changing process of exchange between national and supranational actors, through the use of concrete examples of lawmaking. Labour law is put forward as being central in the current evolution of European law, and this centrality is presented as a confirmation of innovation and continuity in regulatory techniques.