Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in the Community (INSPIRE) (COM(2004) 516 final — 2004/0175 (COD))
Date: 2005-02-09
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU initiative, cartography, dissemination of information, environmental policy, health policy, space science

8.9.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 221/33

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Directive of the
European Parliament and of the Council establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in
the Community (INSPIRE)

(COM(2004) 516 final — 2004/0175 (COD))

(2005/C 221/07)

On 13 September 2004, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee,
under Article 175 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for preparing
the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 13 January 2005. The rapporteur was
Mr Retureau.

At its 414th plenary session on 9 and 10 February 2005 (meeting of 9 February), the European Economic
and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 140 votes with two abstentions:

1. Summary of the Committee's opinion

The Committee considers the proposed establishment of
1.1
an infrastructure for spatial
information in the Community
(INSPIRE) to be appropriate, desirable and in accordance with
the principle of proportionality. This infrastructure will coordi-
nate and make interoperable and accessible all spatial data
collected at national level by the Member States in order to
document more effectively, on a scientific basis, environment-
related decisions and their follow-up, as well as reports required
under certain directives. The Committee believes that the legal
basis (Art. 175 TEC) is appropriate.

This initiative is likely to reduce duplication, omission
1.2
and inefficiency and to make the collection and processing of
data more coordinated and targeted. A Community-wide action
plan is necessary; this will lead to greater efficiency in the use
of data by the administrations and services concerned, and in
the use of data by public and private operators in various
forms, including value added services (specialist maps or data-
bases, etc.).

1.3
The proposed directive creates the legal and technical
framework necessary to realise this aim. It establishes a tech-
nical committee and makes it mandatory for Member States to
give access to their geographical data. The system will be moni-
tored by the Commission and regular
reports are to be
submitted.

approves

The Committee

1.4
the proposal
therefore
submitted for its opinion, as it unquestionably represents added
value for the Community by providing a harmonised frame-
work and promoting vital progress in terms of the quality and
nature of the spatial data collected, thereby underpinning envir-
onmental policy, and possibly other national and European
policies, and assisting in the decision-making process.

referenced information available through INSPIRE is placed in
the public domain, as this is scientific data which is vital for
environmental policy as well as for students and researchers.
Lastly,
the process should be
undertaken without breaching the confidentiality of certain
data,
irrespective of whether they concern personal privacy,
general interest or security matters.

the Committee stresses that

2. The Commission's proposal

2.1
The legal basis is Article 175(1) TEC. This article — by
referring to Article 174 — makes it possible to propose
measures in the field of the environment and health protection
on the basis of technical and scientific data.

2.2
Natural phenomena, similarly to phenomena caused by
human activity, have an impact on the quality of the environ-
ment and on our health; this justifies a Community-wide infor-
mation and coordination campaign that will take into account
the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity, as well as the
precautionary principle.

2.3
A framework directive is proposed to allow broad scope
for subsidiarity so that the provisions can be tailored to the
diversity of the Member States and the regions.

2.4
The metadata will primarily be derived from national
public sources, but this does not exclude the possibility of
other sources being used. A Community geo-portal will give
electronic access to national databases.

It is not mandatory for Member States to collect the
2.4.1
data mentioned in the appendices. The INSPIRE initiative
complements other initiatives, such as GMES or GALILEO,
which can be used to gather specific or additional data.

1.5
The Committee stresses the need to use open file proto-
cols and formats or universal standards that are readable with
free software; it also emphasises the need to ensure that the

The horizontal nature of INSPIRE is of key impor-
it cuts across a variety of sectors, which makes it

2.4.2
tance;
possible to identify and cover any omissions.

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Official Journal of the European Union

8.9.2005

2.4.3
Environmental legislation stipulates the nature, quality
and notification of the data relevant for each of the sector-
specific texts (e.g. directive on water quality).

2.4.4
Data sharing, which enables the identification of omis-
sions and difficulties encountered by Member States, should
make it possible gradually to find solutions.

The aim is to collect and coordinate the spatial (geogra-
2.5
phical) data detailed, for example, in Annexes I, II and III, and
to ensure the interoperability of the various national systems
for the collection and processing of this data thus making them
available to decision-makers, administrative services, research
organisations and more generally to interested members of the
public.

2.6
The harmonised data are input into networks by the
Member States. These easily accessible data and diverse services
will serve as a technical and scientific basis for European,
national or international policies in a broad range of areas.

By sharing and combining the information and knowl-
2.7
edge acquired from various countries and sectors,
it will be
possible to avoid duplication and ensure that all Community
policies take environmental considerations into account.

The European Environment Agency must

2.8
actively
contribute to the implementation of the directive. A comi-
tology procedure is planned for the technical management of
INSPIRE. The Commission will apply the implementing powers
conferred on it by the Council Decision of 22 June 1998.

3. General comments

3.1
The Committee approves and supports the draft direc-
tive establishing an infrastructure for geographical data in the
Community.

In synergy with other information sources, INSPIRE will
the decision-making process in environmental and

3.2
support
health policies as well as in numerous other areas.

Brussels, 9 February 2005.

3.3
The Committee believes that the fact that the benefits
outweigh the costs is a key advantage of the project; it will
make it possible to avoid duplication and fine-tune Community
policies, as well as providing information for the public.

3.4
For the Committee, the Community infrastructure and
the information and services to which it provides access should
be part of the public domain, as they primarily consist of scien-
tific data and knowledge bases, the use of which is in the
general
interest (prevention of natural or industrial hazards,
health, etc.). Too restrictive rights of use for data sets and
services must not become an obstacle.

Nonetheless, public-private partnerships are possible, as
3.5
is the use of data by private organisations or bodies for the
purpose of providing added value services or creating specia-
lised geographical databases for commercial use.

The interoperability of data sets and services is abso-
3.6
lutely essential for the success of the INSPIRE infrastructure; the
Committee supports the proposal to draw up rules for its
implementation in cooperation with both service providers and
users, and with the standardisation bodies.

3.7
The Committee believes that the protocols and formats
for files created at national and Community level should be
open or freely usable, and that the data should be readable for
all internet access software to ensure that everyone has equal
access to and use of the data, regardless of the software or
equipment used.

3.8
Lastly, the Committee once again voices its concerns
regarding the protection of personal data and of privacy. This
protection should come on top of the need to protect key
national interests and public security imperatives regarding the
nature or sensitivity of freely available data.

4. Specific comments

The Committee would also like to receive a copy of the

4.1
periodic reports provided for under the draft directive.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Anne-Marie SIGMUND