Preparatory work by the government

The preparatory work of the Government is carried out in the ministries by ministry officials. Ministers and State Secretaries are responsible for political direction of the preparatory work.

The current Government has four permanent cabinet committees: the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy, the Cabinet Committee on European Union Affairs, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy and the Cabinet Finance Committee. The Government may also appoint ad hoc cabinet committees to prepare a specific matter of matters.

There are also fixed-term preparatory bodies which function within the Government, including

• working groups
• committees
• commissions
• advisory boards
• rapporteurs.

Most of the deadline-based preparatory work at ministries is carried out by working groups and advisory bodies. Only a few committees are appointed each year.

The preparatory bodies are responsible for preparatory work on law drafting as well as on reforms and development projects implemented by the ministries.

In practice, this means that preparatory work involves clarifying, compiling and assessing significant issues related to decision-making. The preparation results in a proposal for measures to be taken on a certain issue.

The preparatory bodies often include experts from outside the Government. Projects are frequently joint ones among several ministries, and the group engaged in preparatory work comprises members from various ministries. Information on the groups and rapporteurs carrying out preparatory work can be found in the Government's Project Registry HARE.