Institutional cooperation on transport and environment

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The need for institutional cooperation is generally acknowledged. However, inter-ministerial cooperation, as well as public involvement, in most countries is still weak.

The degree of cooperation may be measured by the division of powers in the preparation of draft joint strategies. Two extremes of cooperation between ministries relevant for sustainable transport (which may include not only transport, environment and spatial planning, but also, for example, economic affairs, nature conservation and health) can be identified:

• no cooperation: informing other ministers only when a draft policy, plan or programme has been submitted to the council of ministers;
• full cooperation: defining joint visions of the future, leading to joint actions, formulated in strategies, which are jointly initiated and subscribed to by the involved ministers.

In between these extremes lies the procedure of informing other ministries at an early stage and commenting on draft papers on an ad hoc basis at junior, permanent or ad hoc joint task group level, or informing working groups at low or high level in the administration.