In order to make progress on the work of transposition and to coordinate the actions of the various government bodies and departments involved, in March 2007 the Government's Delegate Commission for Economic Affairs (CDGAE) set up an Inter-Ministry Working Group for Transposition of the Services Directive, consisting of the Ministry of the Treasury (with overall responsibility) and all other ministries (with competencies). The working group's mandate is the following:
- Drive the transposition process of the Directive.
- Foster coordination between ministries whose areas of competency are affected.
- Prepare a detailed work programme.
This Work Programme, approved by the CDGAE in July, envisages a general structure for coordination between all the government departments and bodies involved that basically takes a sector-by-sector approach, reinforced by horizontal coordination through single interlocutors.
For sector coordination, each ministry uses its existing instruments (Sector Conferences, Boards of Directors General, etc.), without prejudice to the setting up of ad hoc schemes for the Services Directive when appropriate.
Horizontal coordination is structured based on the designation of single intermediaries by the Ministries and the Autonomous Regions, and it pursues a dual objective:
- To appoint a single person in charge at each ministry and Autonomous Region, with responsibility for promoting transposition work within their institution.
- To use these interlocutors to handle those questions that cover various subjects for which the sector scheme is inadequate, such as all matters pertaining to a single point of contact or administrative cooperation.
Finally, at a local level, it is important to highlight the participation of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) in the sector coordination forums.