Opinion of the Commission pursuant to Article 251 (2) third sub-paragraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, on the European Parliament’s amendments to the Council’s Common Position regarding the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in the European Community (INSPIRE) amending the proposal of the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty
Date: 2006-09-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU initiative, cartography, data collection, environmental policy, exchange of information, remote sensing, space science

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 13.9.2006 
COM(2006) 484 final 

2004/0175 (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 251 (2) third sub-paragraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, on the 
European Parliament’s amendments to the Council’s Common Position regarding the 
proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

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

AMENDING THE PROPOSAL OF THE COMMISSION pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the 
EC Treaty 

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2004/0175 (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 251 (2) third sub-paragraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, on the 
European Parliament’s amendments to the Council’s Common Position regarding the 
proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

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

1. 

BACKGROUND 

PROCEDURE 

The proposal COM(2004)516 final was transmitted to the European Parliament and 
the Council in accordance with the co-decision procedure provided for in Article 175 
(1) of the EC Treaty. 

The European Economic and Social Committee gave its opinion on 9 February 2005. 

The Committee of the Regions did not give an opinion. 

The European Parliament gave its opinion at first reading on 7 June 2005. 

Following the opinion of the European Parliament and pursuant to Article 251(2) of 
the  EC  Treaty,  the  Council  adopted  the  Common  Position  formally  on  23  January 
2006. The Commission’s Communication on the Common Position was adopted on 
10  February  2006  and  the  European  Parliament  adopted  its  position  on  second 
reading on 13 June 2006. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL 

The overall aim of the proposal is to improve the way in which spatial data held by 
public authorities supports environmental policy, by improving the harmonisation of 
spatial data and the interoperability of spatial services and ensuring greater sharing of 
the  data  between  public  authorities  and  on-line  access  by  the  public.  The  type  of 
spatial data covered is specified in three annexes to the proposal. 

The proposed directive would require Member States to take the following measures:  

•  establish  a  network  of  services  that  allows  to  search  for,  view  and  access  the 

spatial data from a one-stop Internet portal  

•  make their spatial data sets and services interoperable (i.e. technically compatible) 

in accordance with implementing rules adopted by committee procedure 

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•  produce catalogues of the data held by their public authorities, contain “metadata” 

providing certain types of information regarding the data 

•  make the spatial data accessible to the public 

•  remove obstacles for the sharing of spatial data between public authorities 

2. 

COMMISSION COMMENTS 

2.1. 

General 

On  13  June  2006,  the  European  Parliament  adopted  all  of  the  36  amendments  that 
were  tabled.  Out  of  the  36  amendments  adopted,  the  Commission  can  accept  30 
amendments in full, 2 amendments in part and a further 3 amendments in principle. 
One of the adopted amendments is not acceptable to the Commission. 

2.2. 

Detailed Comments 

2.2.1.  Amendments Accepted in Full  

Several of the proposed amendments relate to concerns raised by the Commission in 
its Communication on the Common Position. In particular, amendments 13, 14 aim 
to avoid cumbersome procedures for adopting implementing rules on interoperability 
to be adopted by comitology, and to ensure that these rules will be uniformly applied 
in all Member States. Amendments 18, 19, 20, 22 restore the original intention of the 
Commission proposal in relation to public access to data. Similarly, amendments 23, 
25, 26, 27 restore the original intention of the Commission proposal in relation to the 
sharing  of  data  between  public  authorities.  Amendments  1,  2,  3,  5,  6,  7,  make 
corresponding changes to the recitals in relation to these key issues. Amendment 9 is 
necessary for consistency with amendments 19 and 20. Amendments 10, 11, 16, 17, 
30, 31 wholly or partially restore the intention of the original proposal in relation to 
more  minor  aspects.  Amendments 28,  29  provide  clarifications  in  relation  to  co-
ordination structures in the Member States. Amendments 32, 33, 34, 35 have the effect 
of accelerating the timetable for adoption of implementing rules for two spatial data themes, 
while  amendment  36  slightly  enlarges  the  scope  of  another  data  theme.  These  are  all 
acceptable for the Commission in full. 

2.2.2.  Amendments Accepted in Part  

Amendment  24  aims  to  ensure  that  any  charging  and  licensing  practices  by  public 
data providers are made compatible with the overall obligation to share data, while 
limiting  the  level  of  charges  that  may  be  applied.  This  amendment  addresses  a 
concern of the Commission in relation to the Common Position since the sharing of 
data between public authorities is a key aim of the Directive. However, the limitation 
on  the  level  of  charges  is  wrongly  worded  since  it  refers  to  documents  and  will  in 
any case not necessarily be appropriate in all circumstances. Amendment 4 amends 
the corresponding recital and is acceptable in part for the same reasons. 

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2.2.3.  Amendments Accepted in Principle 

Amendment  8  amends  a  recital  corresponding  to  amendments  28  and  29,  is 
acceptable  subject  to  clarification  of  the  drafting  to  ensure  full  consistency  with 
amendments  28  and  29.  Amendment  12  aims  to  restore  the  intention  of  the 
Commission  proposal  in  relation  to  the  timing  of  the  creation  of  metadata,  and  is 
acceptable in principle, on the basis that the timing is in line with that of the original 
proposal.  

Amendment 21 aims to restore the intention of the Commission proposal to give the 
public  access  to  view  data  free  of  charge,  and  is  therefore  also  acceptable  in 
principle.  There  are  nevertheless  some  types  of  data,  such  as  meteorological  data, 
where it may not be cost-effective or reasonable for data providers to make the data 
available  for  view  free  of  charge  because  they  are  too  voluminous  and/or  are  of 
interest for only a very limited period of time. The precise wording of this paragraph 
will need to reflect such cases. 

2.2.4.  Amendments Not Accepted 

Amendment 15 concerns participation of interested parties in preparatory discussions 
for the adoption of implementing rules, and is not acceptable since it deletes a useful 
clarification contained in the Council text. 

2.3 

Amended Proposal 

Pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty, the Commission amends its proposal as 
set out above. 

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