It is pointed out that there has increasingly been a need for a coherent transport policy at European level. This is not only suggested by the realization of the European market, but also by problems within the transport and the increasing sense that choices will have to be made in the field of tension between the preservation and the recovery of the environment on the one side, and an optimal transport system seen from an economic point of view on the other side. However, a coherent analysis is missing. For this purpose, the policy analysis offers a systematic framework. This paper outlines the set-up of a policy analysis for the European freight transport. Attention is paid to: (1) the formulation of the problem; (2) the way to deal with this; (3) a first working out; and (4) the purposes to be aimed at.
Abstract