Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in the Community (INSPIRE) {SEC(2004) 980}
Date: 2004-07-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU initiative, cartography, data collection, environmental policy, exchange of information, remote sensing, space science

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 23.7.2004 
COM(2004) 516 final 

2004/0175 (COD) 

. 

Proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in the Community (INSPIRE) 

{SEC(2004) 980} 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

Introduction 

Good policy depends on high-quality information and informed public participation. Policy-
makers  have  recognised  the  growing  interconnection  and  complexity  of  the  issues  affecting 
the  quality  of  life  today,  and  this  recognition  is  influencing  the  way  new  policies  are  now 
being  formulated.  For  instance,  the  Sixth  Environment  Action  Programme  (6th EAP)1 
emphasises  that  environment  policy  needs  to  be  based  on  sound  knowledge  and  informed 
participation,  and  this  new  approach  is  transforming  the  way  EU  environment  policy 
decisions are being taken. 

A  new  approach  is  therefore  needed  to  deal  with  monitoring  and  reporting  and  with  data 
management  and  delivery  across  the  different  levels  of  government.  Policies  need  to  be 
employed  to  reduce  duplicated  data  collection  and  to  assist  and  promote  the  harmonisation, 
broad dissemination and use of data. Such policies should result in increased efficiency, the 
benefits of which can be reinvested in improving the availability and quality of information. 
In turn, the increased availability of information will stimulate innovation among information 
providers in the commercial sector. 

Spatial information can play a special role in this new approach because it allows information 
to  be  integrated  from  a  variety  of  disciplines  for  a  variety  of  uses.  A  coherent  and  widely 
accessible  spatial  description  of  the  Community  territory  would  deliver  the  requisite 
framework  for  coordinating  information  delivery  and  monitoring  across  the  Community. 
Spatial  information  may  also  be  used  to  produce  maps,  which  are  a  good  way  of 
technical  and  socio-economic 
communicating  with 
characteristics  of  spatial  information  make  the  problems  of  coordination,  information  gaps, 
undefined quality and barriers to accessing and using the information particularly acute. 

the  public.  Unfortunately, 

the 

The Commission has therefore decided to submit to the European Parliament and the Council 
of the European Union the present proposal to make interoperable spatial information readily 
available in support of both national and Community policy and to enable the public to access 
to  this  information.  This  initiative  derives  from  the  commitment  of  several  Commission 
services  in  particular  DG  Environment,  Eurostat  and  the  Joint  Research  Centre,  who  have 
already and will continue to play an important role in the adoption and implementation of this 
Directive. 

2. 

Overview of the Proposal 

The proposed Directive creates a legal framework for the establishment and operation of an 
the  purpose  of  formulating, 
Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information 
implementing,  monitoring  and  evaluating  Community  policies  at  all  levels  and  providing 
public information. 

in  Europe,  for 

1 

OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1. 

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A key objective of INSPIRE is to make more and better spatial data available for Community 
policy-making and implementation of Community policies in the Member States at all levels. 
INSPIRE focuses on environmental policy but is open for use by and future extension to other 
sectors such as agriculture, transport and energy. 

The proposal focuses specifically on information needed in order to monitor and improve the 
state  of  the  environment,  including  air,  water,  soil  and  the  natural  landscape.  Much  of  this 
information needs to be underpinned by "multi-purpose" spatial data. In an infrastructure for 
spatial  information,  not  all  spatial  data  themes  need  to  be  subject  to  the  same  degree  of 
harmonisation,  nor  can  they  be  brought  within  the  infrastructure  at  the  same  pace.  This 
Directive therefore contains three distinct annexes, all of which refer to spatial data needed by 
a broad range of environmental policies. Depending on whether spatial data is to be used for 
geo-referencing  other  spatial  data,  on  whether  harmonised  spatial  data  is  needed  within  the 
context  of  policies  that  directly  or  indirectly  affect  the  environment  and  on  the  degree  to 
which  harmonisation  is  already  underway  within  the  Community,  different  target  dates  for 
implementing INSPIRE requirements and different stringency levels for harmonisation apply. 
It should be noted that the spatial data themes in the annexes determine only the scope of the 
directive  and  of  the  measures  referred  to.  They  do  not  determine  how  spatial  information 
should be organised or harmonised. 

INSPIRE  will  not  set  off  an  extensive  programme  of  new  spatial  data  collection  in  the 
Member  States.  Instead,  it  is  designed  to  optimise  the  scope  for  exploiting  the  data  that  are 
already available, by requiring the documentation of existing spatial data, the implementation 
of  services  aimed  at  rendering  the  spatial  data  more  accessible  and  interoperable  and  by 
dealing  with  obstacles  to  the  use  of  the  spatial  data.  INSPIRE  will  pave  the  road  for  a 
progressive harmonisation of spatial data in the Member States.  

The main beneficiaries of this proposal will therefore be those involved in the formulation, 
implementation,  monitoring  and  evaluation  of  policies  –  at  the  European,  national  and 
local  level.  These  are  public  authorities,  legislators  and  citizens  and  their  organisations. 
However,  other  user  groups  are  also  expected  to  benefit,  including  the  private  sector, 
universities,  researchers  and  the  media.  The  proposal  will  support  the  formulation  and 
implementation of a wide range of environmental and other policies.  

3. 

The need for Community intervention 

Detailed  spatial  information  is  available  in  Europe  to  support  a  broad  range  of  policies. 
Indeed, map-based information is used in many reporting, analysis, evaluation and forecasting 
tools  and  activities.  In  addition,  the  emergence  of  the  Internet  has  allowed  widespread  and 
low-cost  distribution  of  this  type  of  information  and  could  contribute  to  better  public 
understanding and awareness of various policy issues. 

Despite these many initiatives, widespread access to and use of spatial information is still a 
problem  in  Europe.  The  main  problems  relate  to  data  gaps,  missing  documentation, 
incompatible spatial data  sets  and services  due e.g. to varying  standards, and barriers to the 
sharing and reuse of spatial data.  

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Fortunately,  awareness  is  growing  at  national  and  EU  level  that  quality  geo-referenced 
information is needed in order to understand the complexity of ever-increasing human activity 
in  the  EU  and  to  contain  its  adverse  impact,  and  many  regional  and  national  initiatives  are 
being  taken.  Furthermore,  new  instruments  such  as  the  GALILEO  navigation  system2  will 
improve  precision  and  reliability  in  elaborating  spatial  information.  Yet  even  in  these 
circumstances, action at Community level is necessary because: 

•  Few Member States have developed a framework for establishing a national infrastructure 
for spatial information that addresses operational, organisational and legal issues.3 Where 
steps  have  been  taken,  they  have  often  been  restricted  to  specific  regions  or  specific 
sectors. 

•  In most Member States where a framework has been adopted, not all problems have been 

addressed or initiatives are not compatible. 

•  Without  a  harmonised  framework  at  Community  level,  the  formulation,  implementation, 
monitoring  and  evaluation  of  national  and  Community  policies  that  directly  or  indirectly 
affect  the  environment  will  be  hindered  by  the  barriers  to  exploiting  the  cross-border 
spatial  data  needed  for  policies  which  address  problems  with  a  cross-border  spatial 
dimension. 

4. 

Consistency with other policies 

Several  other  Community  instruments  designed  to  promote  the  availability  of  public  sector 
information  already  exist  or  are  being  developed.  The  most  important  are  the  Directive  on 
public  access  to  environmental  information4,  the  Directive  on  the  re-use  of  public  sector 
information5, GMES6 and GALILEO.  

However, additional measures are needed to fuse and streamline policy-relevant spatial data 
from  different  sectors  and  at  different  levels  in  order  to  exploit  the  full  potential  of  spatial 
information. The INSPIRE proposal therefore complements these instruments and will assist 
their implementation.  

Account  will  also  need  to  be  taken  of  the  existing  legal  framework  in  relation  to  data 
protection and copyright. 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

COM(2004) 112 final. 
SDI in Europe, State of Play Spring 2003. 
OJ L 41, 14.2.2003, p. 26. 
OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 90. 
COM(2004) 65 final. 

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5. 

Extended impact assessment 

In June 2002, the Commission introduced a new integrated procedure for impact assessment 
to improve the quality and coherence of the policy development process.7 INSPIRE is on the 
list of proposals of the 2003 Work Programme for which the Commission decided to carry out 
an  extended  impact  assessment.8  An  extended  impact  assessment  has  therefore  been  carried 
out for INSPIRE, which considered six policy options. 9 

The  required  investment  of  the  preferred  option  -  a  focused  framework  backed  by  an  EU 
framework Directive - will to a large extent be borne by the public sector and is estimated at 
an  average  of  €3.6–5.4  million  per  annum  per  EU  Member  State  (EU25).  This  would 
represent only 1% of the total expenditure on spatial information.  

The  benefits  include  environmental  gains,  wider  social  benefits  and  gains  by  the  private 
sector. Only the environmental benefits have been quantified. The average annual benefits per 
Member State (EU25) amount to €27-42 million. Knowing that these elements only represent 
a partial view of the whole picture, the conclusion is that the benefits outweigh the investment 
requirements by a considerable amount. 

6. 

Stakeholders consultation on INSPIRE 

6.1. 

Internet consultation 

The  purpose  of  the  Internet  consultation  was  to  inform  stakeholders  about  the  INSPIRE 
initiative and to receive their opinions and comments about the different key points that need 
to be covered by the proposed INSPIRE framework directive. The Internet consultation took 
place between 29 March and 6 June 2003. 

A  total  of  185  organisations  and  individuals  from  the  EU  Member  States  and  the  accession 
countries  responded  to  the  Internet  consultation.  Their  replies  represent  feedback  from  over 
1 000 organisations. 

The  results  of  the  Internet  consultation  showed  a  very  high  level  of  agreement  of  the 
stakeholders with the assessment of the obstacles and their consequences and demonstrated a 
high level of support of the stakeholders for the proposed INSPIRE initiative. Over 90% of 
the respondents replied positively to many of the questions asked on the existence of obstacles 
and on the need for the measures to be developed in the framework of INSPIRE. An extensive 
the  Internet 
the  Internet  consultation 
analysis  of 
(http://inspire.jrc.it/). 

is  available  on 

the  results  of 

6.2. 

Public hearing 

The public hearing took place in Rome on 10 July 2003. The objective of the public hearing 
was to inform parties interested in INSPIRE about the results of the Internet consultation and 
to  obtain  feedback  on  the  draft  extended  impact  assessment  of  INSPIRE.  The  report  of  the 
hearing is available on the Internet (http://inspire.jrc.it/). 

7 
8 
9 

COM(2002) 276. 
COM(2002) 590. 
Commission staff working document “Extended impact assessment of INSPIRE” 

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7. 

Legal elements of the proposal 

7.1 

Legal basis 

Article 175(1) of the EC Treaty is the appropriate legal basis because the spatial data that fall 
within  its  scope  are  needed  to  support  the  formulation,  implementation,  monitoring  and 
evaluation  of  environmental  policies  with  a  view  to  ensuring  a  high  level  of  environmental 
protection.  Furthermore,  Article  174  requires  the  Community  to  take  account  of  available 
scientific and technical data. INSPIRE contributes to the implementation of this requirement 
by helping the Community to access and use available spatial data. 

Some  of  these  spatial  data  are  also  needed  in  the  context  of  other  national  and  Community 
policies,  such  as  agricultural,  transport  or  regional  policy.  The  choice  of  legal  basis  is 
consistent  with  the  need  to  integrate  environmental  considerations  into  these  other  policies, 
with a view to promoting sustainable development. 

7.2 

Subsidiarity and proportionality 

The subsidiarity principle is intended to ensure that decisions are taken as closely as possible 
to  the  citizen  and  that  constant  checks  are  made  as  to  whether  action  at  European  level  is 
justified in the light of the options available at national, regional or local level. 

Environmental  phenomena  such  as  migration  of  species,  wind,  flows  of  water  happen 
irrespective  of  national  borders.  In  addition,  pressures  and  impacts  on  the  environment 
(flooding, air and water pollution, etc.) often cross national borders. Environmental policies 
therefore  require  the  establishment  of  environmental  management  entities  covering  the 
territory  of  various  Member  States,  such  as  the  river  basin  districts  established  under  the 
Water  Framework  Directive10.  Efficient  implementation  and  monitoring  of  such  policies 
require  interoperable  spatial  information  across  national  borders  and  streamlined  access  and 
use  of  this  information  by  all  concerned  stakeholders.  The  proposed  Directive  will  provide 
consistent  Community-wide  documentation  of  spatial  data  and  data  quality,  more 
Community-wide  spatial  information  of  greater  consistency,  integrated  Community-wide 
services to find, access this information and Community-wide rules related to access, sharing 
and  use  of  the  information.  Without  this  Directive,  Member  States  would  have  great 
difficulties making their existing systems interoperable, accessible and useable across borders. 
This  would  lead  to  more  duplication  and  inefficient  data  collection,  and  would  hamper 
formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of national and Community policies 
that directly or indirectly affect the environment.  

10 

OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1. 

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The  proposed  Directive  does  not  go  beyond  what  is  needed  to  achieve  its  objectives.  It  is 
designed  to  build  upon  the  variety  of  existing  information  systems  already  in  place  in  the 
Member  States  and  provides  the  overall  framework  for  them  to  be  able  to  work  in  synergy 
with  each  other,  forming  part  of  the  Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information  in  the  European 
Community. INSPIRE will also build upon existing organisations already involved in spatial 
data use and production and provide, as far as organisational issues are concerned, only the 
overall  coordination  mechanisms  needed  for  the  infrastructure  to  operate  at  the  European 
level. As regards harmonisation, INSPIRE will address only those aspects needed to achieve 
cross-level  and  cross-thematic  consistency  of  spatial  data  and  to  make  them  available  to 
support  Community  policies.  For  instance,  INSPIRE  does  not  require  Member  States  to 
change  the  format  of  their  spatial  data  holdings;  instead,  Member  States  can  provide 
interfaces that transform heterogeneous data to a uniform model. 

The present proposal takes the form of a framework Directive in order to leave the Member 
States  ample  room  to  ensure  that  the  requisite  measures  for  achieving  the  prescribed 
objectives are tailored to their specific situations. Implementing rules of a technical and more 
prescriptive nature are to be adopted through the committee procedure. These are necessary to 
ensure  the  overall  coherence  the  Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information  in  Europe  needs  in 
order  to  meet  the  objective  of  supporting  Community  policies.  Use  of  the  committee 
procedure also ensures sufficient flexibility to adapt the Infrastructure for Spatial Information 
in Europe to technological progress and to emerging policy priorities. 

The proposal tackles only those aspects that need to be regulated at EU level to ensure that the 
objectives  of  the  EC  Treaty  are  met.  Most  of  the  measures  allow  the  Member  States  to 
continue to operate their existing systems and organisational set-up, by requiring only those 
measures  needed  to  make  existing  systems  interoperable  or  eliminate  existing  barriers. 
Furthermore,  specific 
to  prevent  any 
disproportionate  additional  administrative  burden  on  Member  States  and  the  proposal  also 
introduces safeguards to ensure that it does not stifle innovation, by guaranteeing openness to 
private sector participation 

limitations  have  been 

introduced 

in  order 

7.3 

How  have  the  results  of  the  consultation  of  stakeholders  and  of  the  extended 
impact assessment been taken into account in the proposal? 

The results of the extended impact assessment and the comments made by interested parties 
served as the basis for a review of the measures set out in the INSPIRE Internet consultation 
document and the draft extended impact assessment, resulting in a proposal based upon option 
4  of  the  extended  impact  assessment.  Compared  with  the  measures  set  out  in  the  INSPIRE 
Internet consultation document: 

•  The proposal’s scope has been reduced, in response to concerns over budgetary issues and 
the level of ambition of INSPIRE. The revision of the scope amounts to a 35% reduction in 
terms of the number of spatial data themes covered by INSPIRE. 

•  The requirements relating to the collection of new multi-thematic spatial data on the state 

of the environment have been dropped. 

•  Harmonisation  requirements  are  reduced  for  certain  spatial  datasets  mostly  of  a  thematic 
nature,  allowing  greater  exploitation  of  the  synergies  between  INSPIRE  and  existing 
harmonisation activities. 

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•  The  openness  of  the  Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information  in  Europe  is  guaranteed  by 
providing  the  private  sector  with  the  possibility  of  uploading  relevant  spatial  data  and 
services on a voluntary basis under certain conditions. 

•  The interlinkages between INSPIRE and GMES have been clarified. 

•  The organisation of the annexes and the descriptions of the spatial data themes have been 

revised. 

•  Provisions have been introduced on monitoring and reporting. 

Many of the comments relate, however, to implementation, and will be taken into account for 
the implementation of INSPIRE. 

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2004/0175 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in the Community (INSPIRE) 

Text with EEA relevance 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 175(1) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,11 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee,12 

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,13 

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty,14 

Whereas: 

(1) 

Community  policy  on  the  environment  must  aim  at a high level of  protection taking 
into  account  the  diversity  of  situations  in  the  various  regions  of  the  Community.  In 
preparing its policy on the environment, the Community is required to take account of 
available scientific and technical data, environmental conditions in the various regions 
of  the  Community,  the  economic  and  social  development  of  the  Community  as  a 
whole and the balanced development of its regions. Many information themes related 
to spatial features are required for a broad range of environmental policies. Moreover, 
the same information is often needed for the formulation and implementation of other 
Community policies, which must integrate environmental protection requirements, in 
accordance with Article 6 of the Treaty. In order to bring about such integration, it is 
necessary  to  establish  a  measure  of  coordination  between  the  users  and  providers  of 
the  information  on  those  themes  so  that  information  and  knowledge  from  different 
sectors can be combined. 

11 
12 
13 
14 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 

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(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

The Sixth Environment Action Programme adopted by Decision No 1600/2002/EC of 
the European Parliament and of the Council15 requires full consideration to be given to 
ensuring  that  the  Community's  environmental  policy-making  is  undertaken  in  an 
integrated  way,  taking  into  account  regional  and  local  differences.  That  Programme 
further  calls  for  emphasis  on  the  development  of  European  initiatives  to  raise  the 
awareness of the public and of local authorities and to improve scientific knowledge of 
and data and information on the state and trends of the environment. It also requires 
the following priority actions to be pursued: ex-ante and ex-post evaluation of policy 
measures,  development  of  bridges  between  environmental  and  other  actors  in  the 
fields  of  information,  training,  research,  education  and  policies,  ensuring  regular 
information  inter  alia  to  inform  the  wider  public  and  reviewing  and  regularly 
monitoring information and reporting systems. It additionally requires monitoring and 
data collection to be addressed efficiently in future environmental legislation and the 
development  to  be  stepped  up  of  earth  monitoring  applications  and  tools  to  support 
Member  States  in  setting  up  adequate  data  collection  systems.  A  number  of  serious 
problems  exist  regarding  the  availability,  quality,  organisation  and  accessibility  of 
spatial  information  needed  in  order  to  achieve  the  objectives  set  out  in  the  Sixth 
Environment Action Programme. 

The  problems  regarding  the  availability,  quality,  organisation  and  accessibility  of 
spatial information are common to a large number  of  policy and information themes 
and  are  experienced  across  the  various  levels  of  public  authority.  Solving  these 
problems  requires  measures  that  address  exchange,  sharing,  access  and  use  of 
interoperable  spatial  data  and  spatial  data  services  from  across  the  various  levels  of 
public  authority  and  from  across  different  sectors.  An  infrastructure  for  spatial 
information in the Community should therefore be established. 

The Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community, also referred 
to as INSPIRE, should be based on the infrastructures for spatial information that are 
created by the Member States and that are made compatible with common rules and 
are supplemented with measures at Community  level. These measures should ensure 
that  the  infrastructures  for  spatial  information  created  by  the  Member  States  are 
compatible and are useable in a transboundary context.  

The infrastructures for spatial information in the Member States should be designed to 
ensure  that  spatial  data  are  stored,  made  available  and  maintained  at  the  most 
appropriate  level;  that  it  is  possible  to  combine  spatial  data  from  different  sources 
across the Community in a consistent way and share them between several users and 
applications; that it is possible for spatial data collected at one level of public authority 
to be shared between all the different levels of public authorities; that spatial data are 
made available under conditions that do not restrict their extensive use; that it is easy 
to discover available spatial data, to evaluate their fitness for purpose and to know the 
conditions applicable to their use. 

15 

OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1. 

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(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

There is a degree of overlap between the spatial information covered by this Directive 
and the information covered by Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and 
of  the  Council  of  28 January  2003  on  public  access  to  environmental  information16. 
However, the technical and economic aspects of spatial information hamper its use in 
support  of  environmental  policies  and  of 
integration  of  environmental 
considerations  into  other  policies.  Consequently,  it  is  necessary  to  make  specific 
provisions for spatial information in terms of obligations, exceptions and safeguards. 
This  Directive  is  without  prejudice  to  Directive  2003/4/EC  except  with  respect  to 
certain  provisions  that  address  the  grounds  for  limiting  access  to  the  spatial  data 
covered  by  this  Directive,  avoiding  the  possibility  of  unduly  limitations  of  access  to 
the spatial data covered by this Directive.  

the 

This Directive should be without prejudice to Directive 2003/98/EC of the European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  17  November  2003  on  the  re-use  of  public  sector 
information,17  the  objectives  of  which  are  complementary  to  those  of  this  Directive. 
However, the Commission should take further measures to address issues relevant for 
the  re-use  of  the  specific  category  of  public  sector  information  covered  by  this 
Directive.  

The  establishment  of  an  Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information  in  the  European 
Community  will  represent  significant  added  value  for  -  and  will  also  benefit  from  - 
other Community initiatives such as Council Regulation (EC) No 876/2002 of 21 May 
2002  setting  up  the  Galileo  Joint  Undertaking18  and  Global  Monitoring  for 
Environment  and  Security  (GMES):  Establishing  a  GMES  capacity  by  2008.19  In 
order to exploit the synergies between these initiatives, Member States should consider 
using  the  data  and  services  resulting  from  Galileo  and  GMES  as  they  become 
available, in particular those related to the time and space references from Galileo. 

(9)  Many  initiatives  are  taken  at  national  and  Community  level  to  collect,  harmonise  or 
organise  the  dissemination  or  use  of  spatial  information.  Such  initiatives  may  be 
established  by  Community  legislation  (for  example  by  Commission  Decision 
2000/479/EC of 17 July 2000 on the implementation of a European pollutant emission 
register  (EPER)  according  to  Article  15  of  Council  Directive  96/61/EC  concerning 
integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) 20, Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 
of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  17  November  2003  concerning 
monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the Community (Forest focus) 
21, in the framework of Community funded programmes (for example CORINE land 
cover,  European  Transport  Policy  Information  System)  or  may  emanate  from 
initiatives taken at national or regional level. Not only will this Directive complement 
such  initiatives  by  providing  a  framework  that  will  enable  them  to  become 
interoperable,  it  will  also  build  upon  existing  experience  and  initiatives  rather  than 
duplicate the work that has already been done. 

16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 

OJ L 41, 14.2.2003, p. 26. 
OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 90. 
OJ L 138, 28.5.2002, p. 1. 
COM(2004) 65 final. 
OJ L 192, 28.7.2000, p.36 
OJ L 324, 11.12.2003, p. 1 

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(10)  This Directive should apply to spatial data held by or on behalf of public authorities 
and to the use of spatial data by public authorities in the performance of their public 
tasks. Subject to certain conditions, however, it should also apply to spatial data held 
by natural or legal persons other than public authorities, provided that these natural or 
legal persons request this.  

(11)  This Directive should not set requirements for the collection of new data on the state 
of the environment, or for reporting such information to the Commission, since those 
matters are regulated by other legislation related to the environment.  

(12)  The  implementation  of  the  national  infrastructures  should  be  progressive  and, 
accordingly,  the  spatial  data  themes  covered  by  this  Directive  should  be  accorded 
different  levels  of  priority.  The  implementation  should  take  account  of  the  extent  to 
which spatial data is needed for a wide range of applications in various policy areas, of 
the  priority  of  actions  provided  for  under  Community  policies  that  need  harmonised 
spatial data and of the progress already made by the harmonisation efforts undertaken 
in the Member States.  

(13)  The loss of time and resources in searching for existing spatial data or in discovering if 
they may be used for a particular purpose is a key obstacle to the full exploitation of 
the  data  available.  Member  States  should  therefore  provide  descriptions  of  available 
spatial data sets and services in the form of metadata.  

(14)  Since the wide diversity of formats and structures in which spatial data are organised 
and  accessed  in  the  Community  hampers  the  efficient  formulation,  implementation, 
monitoring and evaluation of Community legislation that directly or indirectly affect 
the environment, implementing measures should be provided for in order to facilitate 
the  use  of  spatial  data  from  different  sources  across  the  Member  States.  Those 
measures should be designed to make the spatial data sets interoperable and Member 
States should ensure that any data or information needed for the purposes of achieving 
interoperability is not restricted in any way.  

(15)  Network  services  are  necessary  for  sharing  spatial  data  between  the  various  tiers  of 
public authorities in the Community. Those network services should make it possible 
to discover, transform, view and download spatial data and to invoke spatial data and 
e-commerce  services.  The  services  of  the  network  should  work  in  accordance  with 
commonly agreed specifications and minimum performance criteria in order to ensure 
the  interoperability  of  the  infrastructures  established  by  the  Member  States.  The 
network of services should also include upload services to enable public authorities to 
make their spatial data sets and services available. 

(16)  Experience  in  the  Member  States  has  shown  that  it  is  important,  for  the  successful 
implementation of an infrastructure for spatial information, that a minimum number of 
services  be  made  available  to  the  public  free  of  charge.  Member  States  should 
therefore  make  available,  as  a  minimum  and  free  of  charge,  the  services  for 
discovering and viewing spatial data sets.  

EN 

12 

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(17)  Certain  spatial data sets  and  services relevant to  Community policies  that  directly or 
indirectly affect the environment are held and operated by third parties. Member States 
should  therefore  offer  third  parties  the  possibility  of  contributing  to  the  national 
infrastructures,  provided  that  the  cohesion  and  ease  of  use  of  the  spatial  data  and 
spatial data services covered by those infrastructures is thereby not impaired. 

(18) 

(19) 

In order to assist the integration of the national infrastructures into the infrastructure 
for  spatial  information  in  the  Community,  Member  States  should  provide  access  to 
their infrastructures through a Community geo-portal operated by the Commission, as 
well as through any access points they themselves decide to operate. 

In  order  to  make  available  information  from  various  levels  of  public  authority, 
Member States should remove the barriers faced in that regard by public authorities at 
national, regional and local level when performing their public tasks that may have a 
direct or indirect impact on the environment. These barriers should be removed at the 
point where the information is to be used for the public task. Where public authorities 
carry  out  commercial  activities  as  well  as  public  tasks,  Member  States  should  take 
appropriate measures to prevent distortion of competition. 

(20)  Frameworks  for  the  sharing  of  spatial  data  between  public  authorities  should  be 
neutral in respect not only of the public authorities within a Member State, but also of 
the public authorities in other Member States and of the Community institutions. Since 
the Community institutions and bodies frequently need to integrate and assess spatial 
information from all the Member States, they should be able to gain access to and use 
spatial data and spatial data services in accordance with harmonised conditions. 

(21)  With a view to stimulating the development of added-value services by third parties, 
for  the  benefit  both  of  public  authorities  and  the  public,  it  is  necessary  to  facilitate 
access to and re-use of spatial data that extend over administrative or national borders.  

(22)  The  effective  implementation  of  infrastructures  for  spatial  information  requires 
coordination by all those with an interest in the establishment of such infrastructures, 
whether as contributors or users. Appropriate coordination structures should therefore 
be established both in the Member States and at Community level. 

(23) 

In order to benefit from the relevant experience of European Standardisation bodies, it 
is  appropriate  that  the  measures  necessary  for  the  implementation  of  this  Directive 
could  be  supported  by  standards  adopted  by  European  standardisation  bodies  in 
accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Directive  98/34/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  22  June  1998  laying  down  a  procedure  for  the 
provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations22. 

22 

OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37. 

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(24)  Since  the  European  Environment  Agency  set  up  by  Council  Regulation  (EEC) 
No 1210/90  of  7 May  1990  on  the  establishment  of  the  European  Environment 
Agency  and  the  European  Environment  Information  and  Observation  Network23  has 
the  task  of  providing  the  Community  with  objective,  reliable  and  comparable 
environmental  information  at  Community  level,  and  aims  inter  alia  to  improve  the 
flow  of  policy-relevant  environmental  information  between  Member  States  and  the 
Community  institutions;  it  should  contribute  actively  to  the  implementation  of  this 
Directive.  

(25)  This  being  a  framework  Directive,  its  implementation  requires  further  decisions  that 
take into account the evolving political, institutional and organisational context and the 
rapid  technological  progress  in  relation  to  spatial  data  systems  and  services.  The 
measures  necessary  for  the  implementation  of  this  Directive  should  therefore  be 
adopted  in  accordance  with  Council  Decision  1999/468/EC  of  28  June  1999  laying 
down  the  procedures  for  the  exercise  of  implementing  powers  conferred  on  the 
Commission24. 

(26)  Preparatory  work  for  decisions  concerning  the  implementation  of  this  Directive  and 
for the future evolution of the infrastructure for spatial information in the Community 
requires  continuous  monitoring  of  the  implementation  of  the  Directive  and  regular 
reporting. 

(27)  The  objective  of  this  Directive,  namely  the  establishment  of  an  infrastructure  for 
spatial information in the Community, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member 
States because of the transnational aspects and because of the general need within the 
Community  to  co-ordinate  the  conditions  of  access  to  spatial  information.  It  can 
therefore  be  better  achieved  at  Community  level,  and  the  Community  may  adopt 
measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the 
Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, 
this  Directive  does  not  go  beyond  what  is  necessary  in  order  to  achieve  those 
objectives.  

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

Chapter I 
General provisions 

Article 1 

1. 

23 

24 

This Directive lays down general rules for the establishment of an infrastructure for 
spatial information in the Community, for the purposes of Community environmental 
policies and policies or activities which may have a direct or indirect impact on the 
environment. 

OJ L 120, 11.05.1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1641/2003 of European 
Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 1) 
OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. 

EN 

14 

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2. 

The  infrastructure  for  spatial  information  in  the  Community  shall  be  based  on 
infrastructures  for  spatial  information  established  and  operated  by  the  Member 
States. 

The component elements of those infrastructures shall include metadata, spatial data 
sets  and  spatial  data  services;  network  services  and  technologies;  agreements  on 
sharing, access and use; and coordination and monitoring mechanisms, processes and 
procedures. 

Article 2 

1. 

This Directive shall cover identifiable collections of spatial data, hereinafter “spatial 
data sets”, which fulfil the following conditions: 

(a) 

they  are  related  to  an  area  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  Member  State  or  to  its 
exclusive economic zone/search and rescue region, or equivalent;  

(b) 

they are in electronic format;  

(c) 

they are in the possession of either of the following: 

(i) 

a  public  authority,  having  been  produced  or  received  by  a  public 
authority, or being managed or updated by that authority; 

(ii) 

a natural or legal person on behalf of a public authority; 

(iii)  a  third  party  to  whom  upload  services  have  been  made  available  in 

accordance with Article 17(3); 

(d) 

they relate to one or more of the themes listed in Annexes I, II or III. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

This  Directive  shall  cover,  in  addition  to  the  spatial  data  sets  specified  in 
paragraph 1,  the  operations  which  may  be  performed,  by  invoking  a  computer 
application,  on  the  spatial  data  contained  in  those  data  sets  or  on  the  related 
metadata, hereinafter ”spatial data services”. 

In the case of spatial data sets which comply with the condition set out in point (c) of 
paragraph 1, but in respect of which a third party holds intellectual property rights, 
the  public  authority  may  take  action  under  this  Directive  only  with  the  consent  of 
that third party.  

Annexes  I,  II  and  III  may  be  adapted  by  the  Commission  in  accordance  with  the 
procedure  referred  to  in  Article  30(2)  to  take  into  account  the  evolving  needs  for 
spatial  data  in  support  of  Community  policies  that  directly  or  indirectly  affect  the 
environment.  

EN 

15 

   EN 

 
Article 3 

1. 

2. 

This  Directive  is  without  prejudice  to  Directive  2003/4/EC,  save  where  otherwise 
provided.  

This Directive is without prejudice to Directive 2003/98/EC.  

Article 4  

In the case of spatial data sets held by or on behalf of a public authority in accordance with 
Article  2(1)(c),  where  that  authority  operates  at  the  lowest  level  of  government  within  a 
Member  State,  this  Directive  shall  apply  only  to  spatial  data  sets  the  collection  or 
dissemination  of  which  is  coordinated  by  another  public  authority  or  is  required  under 
national law. 

Article 5 

The following shall be regarded as a public authority for the purposes of this Directive: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

government  or  other  public  administration,  including  public  advisory  bodies,  at 
national, regional or local level; 

any natural or legal person performing public administrative functions under national 
law, including specific duties, activities or services in relation to the environment; 

any natural or legal person having public responsibilities or functions, or providing 
public services, under the control of a body or person falling within (a) or (b). 

Member  States  may  provide  that  when  bodies  or  institutions  are  acting  in  a  judicial  or 
legislative capacity, they are not to be regarded as public authorities for the purposes of this 
Directive.  

Article 6 

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply:  

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

”spatial data” means any data with a direct or indirect reference to a specific location 
or geographical area; 

“spatial  object”  means  an  abstract  representation  of  a  real-world  entity  related  to  a 
specific location or geographical area; 

“metadata”  means  information  describing  spatial  data  sets  and  spatial  data  services 
and making it possible to discover, inventory and use them; 

(4) 

“third party” means any natural or legal person other than a public authority.  

EN 

16 

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Member  States  shall  establish  and  operate  infrastructures  for  spatial  information  in 
accordance with this Directive. 

Article 7 

Chapter II 
Metadata 

Article 8 

1. 

2. 

Member  States  shall  ensure  that  metadata  are  created  for  spatial  data  sets  and 
services, and that those metadata are kept up to date. 

Metadata shall include information on the following: 

(a) 

the  conformity  of  spatial  data  sets  with  the  implementing  rules  referred  to  in 
Article 11(1); 

(b) 

rights of use of spatial data sets and services; 

(c) 

the quality and validity of spatial data; 

(d) 

(e) 

the  public  authorities  responsible  for 
maintenance and distribution of spatial data sets and spatial data services; 

the  establishment,  management, 

the spatial data sets to which public access is limited in accordance with Article 
19 and the reasons for such limitation.  

3. 

Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  metadata  are 
complete and of high quality.  

Article 9 

Member  States  shall  create  the  metadata  referred  to  in  Article  8  in  accordance  with  the 
following timetable: 

(a) 

(b) 

by [3 years after the entry into force of this Directive] in the case of spatial data sets 
corresponding to one or more of the themes listed in Annexes I and II; 

by [6 years after the entry into force of this Directive] in the case of spatial data sets 
corresponding to one or more of the themes listed in Annex III. 

The  Commission  shall,  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  referred  to  in  Article  30(2),  adopt 
rules for the implementation of Article 8. 

Article 10 

EN 

17 

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Chapter III 
Interoperability of spatial data sets and services 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

Article 11 

The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 30(2), 
adopt implementing rules laying down the following: 

(a) 

harmonised spatial data specifications; 

(b) 

arrangements for the exchange of spatial data. 

Persons  with  an  interest  in  the  spatial  data  concerned  by  virtue  of  their  role  in  the 
spatial  information  infrastructure  that  includes  user,  producer,  added  value  service 
provider  or  coordinating  body  shall  be  given  the  opportunity  to  participate  in  the 
preparation of the implementing rules provided for in paragraph 1. 

Article 12 

The implementing rules provided for in Article 11(1)(a) shall be designed to ensure 
that it is possible for spatial data sets to be combined, or for services to interact, in 
such a way that the result is a coherent combination of spatial data sets or services 
that represents added value, without requiring specific efforts on the part of a human 
operator or a machine. 

The  implementing  rules  provided  for  in  Article  11(1)(a)  shall  cover  the  definition 
and classification of spatial objects relevant to the spatial data and the way in which 
those spatial data are geo-referenced. 

Article 13 

In the case of spatial data sets corresponding to one or more of the themes listed in 
Annex I or II, the implementing rules provided for in Article 11(1)(a) shall meet the 
conditions laid down in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4. 

2. 

The implementing rules shall address the following aspects of spatial data: 

(a) 

a common system of unique identifiers for spatial objects; 

(b) 

the relationship between spatial objects; 

(c) 

(d) 

the  key  attributes  and  the  corresponding  multilingual  thesauri  commonly 
required for a wide range of thematic policies; 

the  way  in  which  information  on  the  temporal  dimension  of  the  data  is  to  be 
exchanged; 

EN 

18 

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(e) 

the way in which updates of the data are to be exchanged. 

3. 

4. 

The implementing rules shall be designed to ensure consistency as between items of 
information which refer to the same location or between items of information which 
refer to the same object represented at different scales.  

The  implementing  rules  shall  be  designed  to  ensure  that  information  derived  from 
different spatial data sets is comparable as regards the aspects referred to in Article 
12(2) and in paragraph 2 of this Article. 

Article 14 

The implementing rules provided for in Article 11(1)(a) shall be adopted in accordance with 
the following timetable: 

(a) 

by [2 years after the entry into force of this Directive] in the case of spatial data 
sets corresponding to one or more of the themes listed in Annex I; 

(b)  by [5 years after the entry into force of this Directive] in the case of spatial data 
sets corresponding to one of more of the themes listed in Annex II or III. 

Article 15 

Member  States  shall  ensure  that  spatial  data  sets  collected  or  updated  later  than  two  years 
after the date of adoption of the corresponding specifications provided for in Article 11(1)(a) 
are  brought  into  conformity  with  those  specifications,  either  through  the  adaptation  of  the 
spatial data sets or through their transformation. 

Article 16 

1. 

2. 

Member States shall ensure that any information or data needed for compliance with 
the  implementing  rules  provided  for  in  Article  11(1)  are  made  available  to  public 
authorities or third parties in accordance with conditions that do not restrict their use 
for that purpose. 

In order to ensure that spatial data relating to a spatial feature the location of which 
spans  the  frontier  between  two  Member  States  are  coherent,  Member  States  shall, 
where  appropriate,  decide  by  mutual  consent  on  the  depiction  and  position  of  such 
common features. 

EN 

19 

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Chapter IV 
Network services 

Article 17 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

Member States shall establish and operate upload services for making metadata and 
spatial  data  sets  and  services  accessible  through  the  services  referred  to  in  Article 
18(1).  

The upload services referred to in paragraph 1 shall be made available to the public 
authorities.  

The upload services referred to in paragraph 1 shall be made available to third parties 
upon  their  request,  provided  that  their  spatial  data  sets  and  services  comply  with 
implementing rules  laying  down  obligations with regard, in particular,  to  metadata, 
network services and interoperability. 

Article 18 

Member States shall establish and operate a network of the following services for the 
spatial  data  sets  and  services  for  which  metadata  have  been  created  in  accordance 
with this Directive: 

(a) 

discovery services making it possible to search for spatial data sets and spatial 
data services on the basis of the content of the corresponding metadata and to 
display the content of the metadata;  

(b)  view  services  making  it  possible,  as  a  minimum,  to  display,  navigate,  zoom 
in/out, pan, or overlay spatial data sets and to display legend information and 
any relevant content of metadata; 

(c) 

download services, enabling copies of complete spatial data sets, or of parts of 
such sets, to be downloaded; 

(d) 

transformation services, enabling spatial data sets to be transformed; 

(e) 

“invoke spatial data services” services, enabling data services to be invoked. 

Those  services  shall  be  easy  to  use  and  accessible  via  the  Internet  or  any  other 
appropriate means of telecommunication available to the public.  

2. 

For the purposes of the services referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1, as a minimum 
the following combination of search criteria shall be implemented: 

(a) 

keywords; 

(b) 

classification of spatial data and services; 

EN 

20 

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3. 

1. 

(c) 

spatial data quality and accuracy; 

(d)  degree  of  conformity  with  the  harmonised  specifications  provided  for  in 

Article 11; 

(e) 

geographical location; 

(f) 

conditions applying to the access to and use of spatial data sets and services; 

(g) 

the  public  authorities  responsible  for 
maintenance and distribution of spatial data sets and services. 

the  establishment,  management, 

The transformation services referred to in point (d) of paragraph 1 shall be combined 
with  the  other  services  referred  to  in  that  paragraph  in  such  a  way  as  to  enable  all 
those services to be operated in conformity with the implementing rules provided for 
in Article 11. 

Article 19 

By way of derogation from Article 4(2) of Directive 2003/4/EC and Article 18(1) of 
this Directive, Member States may limit public access to the services referred to in 
points (b) to (e) of Article 18(1), or to the e-commerce services referred to in Article 
20(2), where such access would adversely affect any of the following:  

(a) 

the  confidentiality  of  the  proceedings  of  public  authorities,  where  such 
confidentiality is provided for by law; 

(b) 

international relations, public security or national defence; 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

the  course  of  justice,  the  ability  of  any  person  to  receive  a  fair  trial  or  the 
ability of a public authority to conduct an enquiry of a criminal or disciplinary 
nature; 

the  confidentiality  of  commercial  or  industrial  information  where  such 
confidentiality  is  provided  for  by  national  or  Community  law  to  protect  a 
legitimate  economic  interest,  including  the  public  interest  in  maintaining 
statistical confidentiality and tax secrecy;  

the  confidentiality  of  personal  data  and/or  files  relating  to  a  natural  person 
where that person has not consented to the disclosure of the information to the 
public,  where  such  confidentiality  is  provided  for  by  national  or  Community 
law;  

(f) 

the  protection  of  the  environment  to  which  such  information  relates,  such  as 
the location of rare species.  

EN 

21 

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2. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

The grounds for limiting access, as provided for in paragraph 1, shall be interpreted 
in  a  restrictive  way,  taking  into  account  for  the  particular  case  the  public  interest 
served by providing this access. In every particular case, the public interest served by 
disclosure shall be weighed against the interest served by the limiting or conditioning 
the access. Member States may not, by virtue of paragraph 1(a), (d), (e) and (f), limit 
access to information on emissions into the environment.  

Article 20 

Member  States  shall  ensure  that  the  services  referred  to  in  Article  18(1)(a)  and  (b) 
are available to the public free of charge. 

Where public authorities levy charges for the services referred to in Article 18(1)(c) 
or (e), Member States shall ensure that e-commerce services are available. 

Article 21 

The Commission shall establish and operate a Community geo-portal. 

Member  States  shall  provide  access  to  the  services  referred  to  in  Article  18(1) 
through the Community geo-portal.  

Member  States  may also  provide access to those services through their own access 
points.  

Article 22 

The  Commission  shall,  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  referred  to  in  Article  30(2),  adopt 
rules for the implementation of this Chapter, and shall in particular lay down the following: 

(a) 

technical specifications for the services referred to in Articles 17(1), 18(1) and 20(2) 
and,  taking  into  account  technological  progress,  minimum  performance  criteria  for 
those services; 

(b) 

the obligations referred to in Article 17(3). 

EN 

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Chapter V 
Data-sharing and re-use 

Article 23 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Member States shall adopt measures for the sharing of spatial data sets and services 
between  public  authorities.  Those  measures  shall  enable  the  public  authorities  of 
Member States, and the institutions and bodies of the Community, to gain access to 
spatial data sets and services, and to exchange and use those sets and services, for the 
purposes  of  public  tasks  that  may  have  a  direct  or  indirect  impact  on  the 
environment. 

The  measures  provided  for  in  the  first  subparagraph  shall  preclude,  at  the  point  of 
use, any restrictions, in particular of a transactional, procedural, legal, institutional or 
financial nature. 

The possibility of sharing spatial data, as provided for in paragraph 1, shall be open 
to bodies established by international agreement to which the Community or Member 
States  are  party,  for  the  performance  of  tasks  that  may  have  a  direct  or  indirect 
impact on the environment. 

Member States shall take appropriate measures to prevent distortion of competition 
in cases where public authorities also carry out commercial activities unrelated to the 
performance of their public tasks, and shall make those measures public. 

The institutions and bodies of the Community shall have access to spatial data sets 
and services additional to that provided for in paragraph 1. The Commission shall, in 
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 30(2), adopt implementing rules 
governing such access and the related rights of use.  

Article 24 

The  Commission  shall,  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  referred  to  in  Article  30(2),  adopt 
implementing rules to increase the potential of re-use of spatial data sets and services by third 
parties.  These  implementing  rules  may  include  the  establishment  of  common  licensing 
conditions.  

EN 

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Chapter VI 
Coordination and complementary measures 

1. 

1. 

2. 

Article 25 

Member  States  shall  designate  appropriate  structures  and  mechanisms  for 
coordinating the contributions of all those with an interest in their infrastructures for 
spatial  information,  such  as  users,  producers,  added-value  service  providers  and 
coordinating bodies. 

Those  contributions  shall  include  identification  of  user  needs,  provision  of 
information on existing practices and provision of feedback on the implementation of 
this Directive. 

Article 26 

The  Commission  shall  be  responsible  for  coordinating  the  infrastructure  for  spatial 
information  in  the  Community  at  Community  level  and  shall  be  assisted  for  that 
purpose by the European Environmental Agency. 

Each Member State shall designate the public authority to be responsible for contacts 
with the Commission in relation to this Directive. 

The standards adopted by European standardisation bodies in accordance with the procedure 
laid down in Directive 98/34/EC may support the implementation of this Directive. 

Article 27 

Chapter VII 
Final provisions 

Article 28 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Member States shall monitor the implementation and use of their infrastructures for 
spatial information.  

The monitoring provided for in paragraph 1 shall be carried out in accordance with 
implementing  rules  adopted  by  the  Commission  in  accordance  with  the  procedure 
referred to in Article 30(2). 

The information resulting from the monitoring provided for in paragraph 1 shall be 
made accessible to the Commission on a permanent basis. 

EN 

24 

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1. 

Member  States  shall  report  to  the  Commission  on  the  implementation  of  this 
Directive and on the experience gained in applying it. The report shall include: 

Article 29 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

a description of how public sector providers and users of spatial data sets and 
services and intermediary bodies are coordinated, and of the relationship with 
the third parties and of the organisation of quality assurance; 

a description of the contribution made by public authorities or third parties to 
the functioning and coordination of the infrastructure for spatial information; 

a  summary  of  the  availability  and  quality  of  spatial  data  sets  and  the 
availability and performance of spatial data services;  

a  summary  of  information  on  the  use  of  the  infrastructure  for  spatial 
information; 

(e) 

a description of the sharing agreements between public authorities; 

(f) 

a summary of the costs and benefits of implementing this Directive. 

The  report  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  be  sent  to  the  Commission  every  three 
years, starting in [three years after the entry into force of this Directive].  

The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 30(2), 
adopt rules for the implementation of paragraph 1.  

The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee. 

Article 30 

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  Articles  5  and  7  of  Decision 
1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. 

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three 
months. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure. 

Article 31 

The Commission shall present to the European Parliament and to the Council by [7 years after 
the date of entry into force] and every six years thereafter a report on the application of this 
Directive. 

Where necessary, the report shall be accompanied by proposals for Community action. 

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Article 32 

1. 

Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative 
provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by [2 years after the date of entry 
into  force].  They  shall  forthwith  communicate  the  Commission  the  text  of  those 
provisions and a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive. 

When  Member  States  adopt  these  provisions,  they  shall  contain  a  reference  to  this 
Directive  or  be  accompanied  by  such  reference  on  the  occasion  of  their  official 
publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made. 

2. 

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions 
of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. 

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 33 

Article 34 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX I 

SPATIAL DATA THEMES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLES 9(A), 13(1) AND 14(A) 

1. 

Coordinate reference systems 

Systems for uniquely referencing spatial information in space as a set of coordinates (x,y,z) 
and/or latitude and longitude and height, based on a geodetic horizontal and vertical datum 

2. 

Geographical grid systems 

Harmonised  multi-resolution  grid  with  a  common  point  of  origin  and  standardised  location 
and size of grid cells.  

3. 

Geographical names 

Names of areas, regions, localities, cities, suburbs, towns or settlements, or any geographical 
or topographical feature of public or historical interest. 

4. 

Administrative units 

National  territory  divided  into  units  of  administration  for  local,  regional  and  national 
governance.  The  administrative  units  are  separated  by  administrative  boundaries.  Also 
includes the boundaries of national territory and the coastline. 

5. 

Transport networks 

Road, rail, air and water transport networks and related infrastructure. Includes links between 
different networks. Also includes the trans-European transport network as defined in Decision 
1692/96/EC25 and the future revisions of this decision.  

6. 

Hydrography 

Hydrographic elements, both natural and artificial including rivers, lakes, transitional waters, 
reservoirs,  aquifers,  channels  or  other  water  bodies,  where  appropriate  in  the  form  of 
networks and linked with other networks. Includes river basins and sub-basins as defined in 
Directive 2000/60/EC. 26 

7. 

Protected sites 

Area designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives. 

25 

26 

Decision  nº  1692/96/EC  on  Community  guidelines  for  the  development  of  trans-European  transport 
network. 
Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a 
framework for Community action in the field of water policy, OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1. 

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ANNEX II  

SPATIAL DATA THEMES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLES 9(A), 13(1) AND 14(B) 

1. 

Elevation 

Digital  elevation  models  for  land,  ice  and  ocean  surface.  Includes  terrestrial  elevation, 
bathymetry and shoreline. 

2. 

Identifiers of properties 

Geographic location of properties based on address identifiers, usually by road name, building 
number, postal code.  

3. 

Cadastral parcels 

Areas defined by cadastral borders, with specific legal status of ownership. 

4. 

Land cover 

Physical  and  biological  cover  of  the  earth's  surface  including  artificial  surfaces,  agricultural 
areas, forests, (semi-)natural areas, wetlands, water bodies.  

5. 

Orthoimagery 

Geo-referenced image data of the Earth's surface, from either satellite or airborne sensors.  

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ANNEX III 

SPATIAL DATA THEMES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLES 9(B) AND 14(B)  

1. 

Statistical units 

Units for referencing census or other statistical information. 

2. 

Buildings 

Geographical location of buildings. 

3. 

Soil 

Soils and subsoil characterised according to depth, texture, structure and content of particles 
and organic material, stoniness, where appropriate mean slope and anticipated water storage 
capacity. 

4. 

Geology 

Geology  characterised  according  to  composition  and  structure.  Includes  bedrock  and 
geomorphology. 

5. 

Land use 

Territory  characterised  according  to  its  current  and  future  functional  dimension  or  socio-
economic purpose (e.g. residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural, forestry, recreational). 

6. 

Human health and safety 

Geographical  distribution  of  occurrence  of  diseases  linked  directly  (epidemics,  spread  of 
diseases, health effects due to environmental stress, air pollution, chemicals, depletion of the 
ozone layer, noise, etc.) or indirectly (food, genetically modified organisms, stress, etc.) to the 
quality of the environment. 

7. 

Government service and environmental monitoring facilities 

Sites  for  governmental  services,  location  of  hospitals  and  medical  treatment  locations, 
schools, kindergartens, etc. Includes sewage, waste and energy facilities, production sites and 
environmental monitoring facilities operated by or for public authorities. 

8. 

Production and industrial facilities 

Industrial production sites. Includes water abstraction facilities, mining, storage sites. 

9. 

Agricultural and aquaculture facilities 

Farming  equipment  and  production  facilities  (including  irrigation  systems,  greenhouses  and 
stables). 

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10. 

Population distribution – demography 

Geographical  distribution  of  people  aggregated  by  grid,  region,  administrative  unit  or  other 
analytical unit. 

11. 

Area management/restriction/regulation zones & reporting units 

Areas  managed,  regulated  or  used  for  reporting  at  European,  national,  regional  and  local 
levels.  Includes  dumping  sites,  restricted  areas  around  drinking  water  sources,  nitrate-
vulnerable  zones,  regulated  fairways  at  sea  or  large  inland  waters,  OSPAR  areas  for  the 
dumping  of  waste,  noise  restriction  zones,  prospecting  and  mining  permit  areas,  river  basin 
districts, OSPAR reporting units and coastal zone management areas. 

12. 

Natural risk zones 

Vulnerable  areas  characterised  according  to  natural  hazards  (all  atmospheric,  hydrologic, 
seismic,  volcanic  and  wildfire  phenomena  that,  because  of  their  location,  severity,  and 
frequency, have the potential to seriously affect society), e.g. floods, landslides, avalanches, 
forest fires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions. 

13. 

Atmospheric conditions 

Physical  conditions  in  the  atmosphere.  Includes  spatial  data  based  on  measurements,  on 
models or on a combination thereof and includes measurement locations. 

14. 

Meteorological geographical features 

Weather  conditions  and  their  measurements;  precipitation,  temperature,  evapotranspiration, 
wind speed and direction. 

15. 

Oceanographic geographical features 

Physical conditions of oceans (currents, salinity, wave heights, etc.). 

16. 

Sea regions 

Physical conditions of seas and saline water bodies divided into regions and sub-regions with 
common characteristics. 

17. 

Bio-geographical regions 

Areas of relatively homogeneous ecological conditions with common characteristics. 

18. 

Habitats and biotopes 

Geographical areas characterised by specific ecological conditions and physically supporting 
the  organisms  that  live  there.  Includes  terrestrial  or  aquatic  areas  distinguished  by 
geographical,  abiotic  and  biotic  features,  whether  entirely  natural  or  semi-natural.  Includes 
small features of the rural landscape – hedgerows, brooks, etc. 

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19. 

Species distribution 

Geographical  distribution  of  occurrence  of  animal  and  plant  species  aggregated  by  grid, 
region, administrative unit or other analytical unit.  

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