In the European Union the organization and management of pensions systems is the exclusive concern of the member states; since 2001, however, community intervention on pensions has been envisaged through the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). This article considers the contents of OMC-pensions and their capacity to influence national pensions policies, with particular reference to Italy; it also assesses the extent to which the public contributions system introduced in Italy by the 1995 reform makes it possible to pursue different aims on the basis of the open method of coordination (sustainability, adequacy and modernization), also identifying the main critical features in the system.only subscribers can see the full article