Key Bodies/Results

Incident Management in the Alpine Countries

There is currently no uniform approach in the Alpine states to deal with the occurrence of an unexpected event on a transalpine axis that interferes with the normal flow of traffic over a longer period and which has an impact on the neighbouring countries. However, a standardised crisis management system would ensure the efficient and precise exchange of information between the states concerned and also reduce the time and expense involved. Since June 2007 experts have been working on steps to implement such a systematic crisis management system in the Alpine arc. The aim is to apply a standardised approach in the case of major incidents along one of the transalpine axes based on a joint catalogue of measures. This work covers three main areas:

Incident and situation reporting,
Website for transalpine transit traffic and
Incident management measures in the Alpine region.

The purpose of the incident and situation reporting is to respond to an incident by communicating information concerning the incident and the expected duration of the interruption to the flow of traffic to the countries in the Alpine region in a standardised form and by the quickest means possible. The website should provide all road users with important information concerning the various transalpine axes in a clearly structured and transparent manner.
Finally, the development of a strategy for emergency measures in the event of an incident is of the utmost importance, whereby the state in which the incident occurred must take all appropriate measures in accordance with the following two principles and on the basis of mutual trust:

In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, i.e. to try and find a domestic solution for the problem before involving the neighbouring countries, and
in accordance with the principle of the mildest measure, i.e. to apply the mildest measure first.

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> report: Incident Management in the Alpine Countries.pdf