Abstract During the policy process ahead of the 2008 renewal of the European Employment Strategy (EES), the European Commission's introduction of Flexicurity policies aroused much criticism. Researchers and trade unionists claimed that the Commission's embracing of the concept was a rhetorical manoeuvre rather than a genuine attempt to substantially revise the strategy. This article challenges these claims. Drawing on policy learning theory and discourse analysis, the Commission's policy recommendations prior to and past the introduction of Flexicurity are analysed. The main finding is that one of the policy components subsumed by the EES – modern social security systems – has undergone considerable revision. Moreover, the article argues that this revision possibly stems from a learning process. In relation to the literature on the open method of co-ordination (OMC), the study therefore adds that the OMC's learning effects should be assessed not only on the national level. The European institutions – in this case, the Commission – can also be subject to learning.