WRITTEN QUESTION E-3043/01

by Elmar Brok (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 November 2001)

Subject: Importance of geo-information for economic development

1. In the Commission's view, how important is geo-information for economic development?

2. In what way does the Commission promote geo-information, particularly the collection and utilisation of geo-data?

3. Does the Commission share the view that geo-information is not a national matter but an important issue on a European scale?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(7 January 2002)

1. Geo-information (GI) is an area that has a substantial economic potential. The market for GI related products and services is already well developed and the importance of GI will only increase with the move towards mobile communications. It is, for example, an essential factor for location based services that may become one of the key elements of the mobile Internet. The availability of high quality geo-information also has an impact on other sectors, like transport and agriculture.

GI, furthermore, plays an increasing role in the definition, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Community policies, as in the disaster planning and environmental domains. In fact, the availability of geo-information can be considered as a prerequisite for a sustainable development.

2. The Commission stimulates the strengthening of the structures for the creation and use of Geographic information and applications based on GI along different lines. In collaboration with the Member States, the Commission is developing the idea of a European GI base (ESDI), leading ultimately to a pan-European interoperable digital map coverage.

GI is furthermore one of the sectors addressed by the Commission's general policy on the exploitation of public sector information. The Commission adopted on 23 October 2001, a Communication on the exploitation of public sector information(1), giving the general policy orientations on the issue.

Financing instruments for Geographic information projects are available in various Community programmes like the 5th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (R & D) and the market orientated eContent programme. The Commission is currently funding research projects in the geo-information area for more than 20 million.

Finally, in different Community policies and notably the Community environmental policy, geographic information plays an increasing role for the definition, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of new policy instruments(2). It is against this background that the idea of a European GI base is very important to prevent overlapping and incompatible geographic information layers.

3. Geo-information is a concern for all levels of responsibility: Local, Regional, National and European. Since GI-related issues very often have an important European, cross-border component, the European Union has a clear role to play. The initiatives mentioned above show how the Commission is already contributing to the GI-area, where there is a clear European added-value. In some cases, cooperation in Geo-information goes even beyond the European scale. The Commission is currently contributing to the world-wide scale GSDI initiative (Global Spatial Data Infrastructure).

(1) COM(2001) 607 final.

(2) Cf for instance Directive 2000/60/EC of the Parliament and the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, OJ L 327, 22.12.2000. Proposal for a directive of the Parliament and of the Council relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise OJ C 337 E, 28.11.2000.