Institutional cooperation on transport and environment

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Inter-ministerial cooperation takes place in many ACs, as part of the accession process. It also forms part of the development and implementation of NEAPs and NEHAPs (IEEP, 2001) as, aside from the end-product itself (the plan or programme), the process of producing them has proved to be very valuable for building bridges between the formerly isolated areas of transport, environment and health.

However, only the Czech Republic has established a formal and permanent inter-institutional body. This acts as an adviser or management consultant to the government. In the Slovak Republic, a working group, established in 1997, deals with the implementation of the action plan for transport and environment. Several countries have set up interministerial councils for NEHAP implementation (Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania and Romania). Temporary inter-ministerial working groups, with the task of drafting various pieces of legislation, are also common (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia and Poland). Bulgaria has set up a commission for sustainable development.

Both in the EU and in the ACs, the existence of formal or informal interministerial bodies does not necessarily entail factual and efficient cooperation between the parties involved. A questionnaire circulating in advance of a high-level meeting of officials in the fields of transport, environment and health, held in Szentendre (Hungary) in July 2001, made clear that most authorities in the ACs think that cooperation between their departments, while not seamless, is improving (REC, 2001). The questionnaire further pointed out that the development of NEAPs and NEHAPs, and the application of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) — all requiring inter-ministerial cooperation — are seen as the most promising tools for achieving sustainable transport.

The Commission's Joint Expert Group on Transport and Environment — consisting of representatives of transport and environment ministries — is already involving the ACs in its meetings.