The aim of the panel is to discuss the flexibility models set up through the new modes of governance with the main overarching question of whether the increased flexibility offered by the new modes of governance increases their effectiveness. The first paper will examine a flexibility model contained in a binding secondary measure, i.e. the Water Framework Directive. The paper will discuss how striking the right balance between flexibility and robust and enforceable standards is essential to the achievement of the EU policy goals. The discussion will subsequently move to the Open Method of Coordination, a governance tool which can be considered a role model of flexible governance. The paper devoted to this theme will discuss the tensions which arises from the use of the Open Method of Coordination in the employment field, in particular the tension between flexibility and effectiveness. Can the EU properly achieve its goals with such methods of governance? An interesting parallel will thus be drawn between flexibility models stemming from binding and non-binding measures. Are the outcomes different? Then, by using the case study of energy governance, the third paper focuses on one of the consequences of flexibility, namely the existence of redundancies in the decision-making processes. Under which conditions can regulatory overlap be valuable? Finally, a last paper on telecoms regulation will examine the effect of procedural and organizational reforms on the effectiveness of flexible non-binding coordination through the telecoms regulatory network.