Belgium is a country where consultation is essential for dealing with environmental issues in a coherent way. The Consultation committee, which provides a forum for such consultation when regional governments and the federal government must decide on certain policy issues together, has therefore established the Interministerial Conference for the Environment (ICE). Within this committee, the relevant members from the different governments work together to decide on the actions to be taken, while respecting each party's autonomy.  
 
 The ICE is composed of the regional and federal ministers responsible for the environment and nature. Its secretariat is provided by the secretariat of the CCIEP of the DG Environment of the FPS Public Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment. Its presidency is held by the three Regions and the Federal State in turn. 
 
The Interministerial Conference for the Environment agrees on issues requiring coherent implementation. Some issues are imposed by the Special Act of 8 August 1980 on institutional reforms. The federal State must therefore involve the Regions in the establishment of product standards (Article 6, § 4, 1°). The regions must also consult each other, for example on forests that cover several regions or on the start dates of hunting. 
 
When the issues dealt with also touch on areas of competence that go beyond the environmental sphere, the Interministerial Conference for the  Environment is extended to include members of the federal, regional or community governments concerned. In two cases, the composition of the ICE is defined in a cooperation agreement:

  • the Interministerial Conference for the Environment, expanded to include Climate, which includes, among others, the Ministers of Energy, Transport, Taxation, Development Cooperation and the Economy (see "Climate Cooperation Agreement" on the establishment, implementation and monitoring of a National Climate Plan, as well as for preparing reports as part of a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Belgian Monitor of 27 June 2003); 
  • the Interministerial Conference for the the Environment, extended to REACH (see "REACH Cooperation Agreement" on the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemical substances and the restrictions applicable to these substances (Belgian Monitor of 14 March 2012).