Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 2007/2/EC as regards certain reporting requirements for infrastructures for spatial information
Date: 2023-10-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, Internet, access to information, disclosure of information, exchange of information, geographical information system, information network, information system, trans-European network, transmission network

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 17.10.2023  COM(2023) 584 final 2023/0356 (COD)  Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 2007/2/EC as regards certain reporting requirements for infrastructures for spatial information (Text with EEA relevance)  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

• 
In its Communication on ‘Long-term competitiveness of the EU: looking beyond 2030’1, the 
Commission  has  stressed  the  importance  of  a  regulatory  system  that  ensures  that  objectives 
are  reached  at  minimum  costs.  It  has  committed therefore to  a fresh push to  rationalise and 
simplify  reporting  requirements,  with  the  ultimate  aim  to  reduce  related  burdens  by  25%, 
without undermining the related policy objectives.  

Reporting  requirements  play  a  key  role  in  ensuring  correct  enforcement  and  proper 
monitoring  of  legislation.  Their  costs  are  overall  largely  offset  by  the  benefit  they  bring,  in 
particular  in  monitoring  and  ensuring  compliance  with  key  policy  measures.  Reporting 
requirements can however also impose disproportionate burdens on stakeholders, particularly 
affecting  SMEs  and  micro-companies,  also  given  organisational  and 
technological 
developments  that  call  for  original  reporting  requirements  to  be  adjusted.  Their  cumulation 
over  time  can  result  in  redundant,  duplicating  or  obsolete  obligations,  inefficient  frequency 
and  timing,  or  inadequate  methods  of  collection.  For  this  reason,  several  EU  instruments 
creating reporting obligations include specific thresholds for smaller companies. 

Streamlining reporting obligations and reducing administrative burdens is therefore a priority. 
In  this  context,  the  present  proposal  aims  to  simplify  an  initiative  included  in  headline 
ambitions A European Green Deal and A Europe fit for the digital age in the policy area of 
Environment and affecting the following sectors: public services and professional services. 

The proposal will rationalise reporting obligations under Directive 2007/2/EC by reducing the 
frequency of reporting requirements. 

The  rationalisation  of  reporting  obligations  addressed  by  this  proposal  concern  public 
authorities, and may indirectly lead to reducing burden on businesses. More specifically, the 
less  frequent  reporting  will  lessen  the  burden  on  industries  and  utilities  that  are  required  to 
share data-sets identified in the Annexes to the Directive such as utility networks, location of 
production  and  industrial  facilities,  etc.  No  new  obligations  are  added.  The  reporting 
obligation affected by this proposal will follow a biennial cycle instead of a yearly cycle. 

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

The  proposal  on  the  amendment  of  the  Directive  2007/02/EC  is  part  of  a  first  package  of 
measures  to  rationalise  reporting  requirements.  This  is  a  step  in  a  process  looking 
comprehensively  at  existing  reporting  requirements,  with  a  view  to  assess  their  continued 
relevance and to make them more efficient.  

The rationalisation introduced by these measures will not negatively affect the achievement of 
objectives in the policy area, since following a bi-annual reporting cycle instead of an annual 
reporting  cycle  still  allows  the  capturing  of  implementation  trends  and  evolutions  in  the 
Member States. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

Under the Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT), the Commission ensures 
that  its  legislation  is  fit  for  purpose,  targeted  to  the  needs  of  stakeholders  and  minimises 
burdens  while  achieving  its  objectives.  This  proposal  is  therefore  part  of  the  REFIT 

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COM(2023)168. 

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programme,  reducing  the  complexity  of  reporting  burdens  arising  from  the  EU  legal 
environment. 

While  certain  reporting  requirements  are  essential,  they  need  to  be  as  efficient  as  possible, 
avoiding overlaps, removing unnecessary burdens and using as much as possible digital and 
interoperable solutions.  

The current proposal rationalises reporting requirements thus making the achievement of the 
objectives of legislation more efficient and less burdensome for public authorities. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The legal basis for Directive 2007/2/EC is Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of 
the  European  Union.  Article  192(1)  provides  the  legal  basis  for  measures  to  protect  the 
environment including the use of available data to inform environmental policy preparation. 

• 

Subsidiarity  

The  reporting  requirements  concerned  are  imposed  by  EU  law.  Their  rationalisation  is 
therefore  best  done  at  EU  level  to  ensure  legal  certainty  and  consistency  of  reporting.  This 
will  ensure  a  level  playing  field  for  public  administrations  across  the  EU,  which  will  be 
benefiting from the rationalisation of reporting requirements arising from this proposal. 

• 

Proportionality 

The  rationalisation  of  reporting  requirements  simplifies  the  legal  framework  by  introducing 
minimum changes to existing requirements that do not affect the substance of the wider policy 
objective.  The  proposal  is  therefore  limited  to  those  changes  that  are  necessary  to  ensure 
efficient  reporting  without  changing  any  of  the  substantial  elements  of  the  legislation 
concerned.  

• 

Choice of the instrument 

Since  the  amendment  to  be  made  to  Directive  2007/2/EC  concerns  the  provision  of 
information to the Commission by Member States, it does not need to be transposed. In this 
particular situation, it is therefore appropriate to use a decision for such amendment. 

3. 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

• 
The  2022  evaluation  of  the  INSPIRE  Directive  (2)  found  that  the  reporting  burden  can  be 
further reduced in function of the alignment of INSPIRE provisions with regulatory reporting 
provisions in other environmental regulations. Moreover, making INSPIRE technically more 
efficient can support further administrative burden reduction by INSPIRE. 

Stakeholder consultations 

• 

N/A 

2 

SWD(2022) 195 final, SWD(2022) 196 final. 

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• 

Collection and use of expertise 

This proposal has been identified following a process of internal scrutiny of existing reporting 
obligations and based on the experience from implementation of the related legislation. Since 
this is a step in the process of continuous assessment of reporting requirements arising from 
EU legislation, the scrutiny of such burdens and of their impact on stakeholders will continue. 

• 

Impact assessment 

The  proposal  concerns  limited  and  targeted  changes  of  legislation  in  view  of  rationalising 
reporting  requirements.  They  are  based  on  experience  from  implementing  legislation.  The 
changes  do not  have significant  impacts  on the policy, but  only ensure a more efficient  and 
effective implementation. Their targeted nature and the lack of relevant policy options make 
an impact assessment not necessary.  

• 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

This is a REFIT proposal, aiming to simplify legislation and cut burdens for stakeholders.  

The proposal further simplifies reporting under Directive 2007/2/EC and coincides with other 
simplification initiatives (i.e., on rules for interoperability of data and network services) and 
the alignment with other data legislation (Open Data Directive). 

• 

Fundamental rights 

N/A. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

N/A. 

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

Since  the  amendment  to  be  made  to  Directive  2007/2/EC  concerns  the  provision  of 
information to the Commission by Member States, it does not need to be transposed. 

• 

Explanatory documents 

N/A.  

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

Article 1  

Article  1  introduces  a  biennial  reporting  cycle  instead  of  an  annual  reporting  cycle.  This 
reporting  frequency  is  aligned  with  the  frequency  of  reporting  under  Commission 
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 on High Value Datasets, that to a large extent has an 
overlapping data scope with Directive 2007/2/EC.  

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2023/0356 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Directive 2007/2/EC as regards certain reporting requirements for 
infrastructures for spatial information 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 192(1) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee1,  
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions2,  

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

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2 
3 

4 

Reporting  requirements  play  a  key  role  in  ensuring  proper  monitoring  and  correct 
enforcement of legislation. However, it is important to streamline those requirements 
to  ensure  that  they  fulfil  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  intended  and  to  limit  the 
administrative burden.  

It  is  necessary  to  align  the  frequency  and  timing  of  reporting  obligations  on  the 
implementation and use of Member States’ infrastructures for spatial information with 
more recent horizontal digital data legislation as to reduce the administrative burden. 
Directive  2007/2/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council3  lays  down 
general rules aimed at the establishment of the Infrastructure for Spatial Information, 
for the purposes of Union environmental policies and policies or activities which may 
have an impact on the environment. Article 21(2) of that Directive requires Members 
State  to  update,  if  necessary,  and  publish  a  report  including,  among  other  things,  a 
summary  description  of  the  costs  and  benefits  of  implementing  that  Directive  by  31 
March of each year. 
Taking  into  account  the  results  of  the  Commission  report4  on  Actions  to  Streamline 
Environmental  Reporting  and  the  accompanying  Fitness  Check  of  Reporting  and 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an 
Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) (OJ L 108, 25.4.2007, p. 
1). 
COM/2017/0312 final,  Report from the Commission to the European Parliament,  the Council and the 
European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  Actions  to  Streamline 
Environmental Reporting 

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Monitoring  of  Union  Environment  Policy,  Directive  2007/2/EC  was  amended  by 
Regulation (EU) 2019/1010 of the European Parliament and of the Council5 to reduce 
the scope of reporting to the governance for its implementation and the reuse of public 
spatial data. The evaluation of Directive 2007/2/EC concluded by the Commission in 
2022  found  that  there  is  scope  to  make  it  technically  more  efficient  by  means  of 
further administrative burden reduction. 

In order to reduce administrative burdens, it is appropriate to lower  the frequency of 
reporting under Directive 2007/2/EC to once every two years. 

Directive 2007/2/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.  

Since  the  amendment  to  be  made  to  Directive  2007/2/EC  concerns  the  provision  of 
information to the Commission by Member States, it does not need to be transposed. 
In  this  particular  situation,  it  is  therefore  appropriate  to  use  a  decision  for  such 
amendment. 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

Amendment to Directive 2007/2/EC 

In Article 21(2) of Directive 2007/2/EC, the first sentence is replaced by the following:  

‘No later than 31 March every two years, starting from 31 March 2025, Member States shall 
update,  if  necessary,  a  summary  report.  Those  reports,  which  shall  be  made  public  by  the 
Commission services, shall include summary descriptions of:’. 

Article 2 

Entry into Force 

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

Article 3 

Addressees 

This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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Regulation  (EU)  2019/1010  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  5  June  2019  on  the 
alignment of reporting obligations in the field of legislation related to the environment, and amending 
Regulations (EC) No 166/2006 and (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council, 
Directives  2002/49/EC,  2004/35/EC,  2007/2/EC,  2009/147/EC  and  2010/63/EU  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council,  Council  Regulations  (EC)  No  338/97  and  (EC)  No  2173/2005,  and 
Council Directive 86/278/EEC (OJ L 170, 25.6.2019, p. 115). 

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