Transalpine transport: a local problem in search of European solutions or a European problem in search of local solutions?

Abstract

The transalpine transport problem is proving very difficult to solve and risks becoming intractable. Can this be explained alone by the obstinate prioritization of economic efficiency goals over environmental protection, as the citizen protest movement would argue? Or is the problem (and solution) to be found in the modes of governance and decision‐making that characterize this issue? The paper seeks answers to these questions through a review of alpine transport policy and discourse over the last several years. The main argument is that while the belated recognition of environmental concerns is partly to blame for the problems faced by transalpine transport, the key issue is the absence of a multilateral policy framework for addressing the problem and the failure of the European Union system of governance to provide such a framework. Transalpine transport represents a local/regional problem that requires a European solution. The immaturity of the European scale of decision‐making and of appropriate governance modes is the main reason why it has become an intractable policy issue that has increased mistrust vis‐à‐vis (European) transport policy.