Simplification of certain requirements for spatial information infrastructure in the Union (INSPIRE) (Omnibus VIII on environmental legislation)

The European Parliament adopted by 515 votes to 108, with 35 abstentions, amendments to the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2007/2/EC as regards simplification of certain requirements for the establishment of the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the Union.

The matter was referred to the committee responsible for interinstitutional negotiations.

The proposal aims to amend INSPIRE as part of the Environmental Omnibus (Omnibus VIII) simplification package, and as the legislative component of the GreenData4All initiative. The proposal would streamline the INSPIRE Directive by removing redundant technical requirements for network services and data sharing, deferring instead to the horizontal data legislative framework.

Parliament largely supports the objectives of simplification and alignment with horizontal data legislation. However, it believes that the Commission's approach in certain areas risks undermining important safeguards specific to environmental geographic data.

The main amendments adopted in plenary concern the following points:

Ensuring the availability, accessibility and usability of environmental information

Members consider that high-quality, reliable and comparable environmental data are an essential prerequisite for the design, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of Union environmental law and policies. Maintaining the availability, accessibility and usability of environmental information therefore remains essential to ensuring a high level of environmental protection across the Union.

Member States should ensure that:

- the provision of spatial data sets and spatial data services, including through application programming interfaces, is based on open, documented, vendor-neutral, and geospatial standards. These standards include relevant standards and specifications such as those of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), as well as the API standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and comparable open specifications;

- the technical solutions chosen do not impair the cross-border discoverability, accessibility, usability, and re-use of spatial data.

Network of services

Member States should:

- ensure that spatial data sets falling within the scope of this Directive are made available and accessible in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/1024, including through appropriate technical arrangements enabling discovery and access for public tasks relevant for the environment, while supporting interoperability and comparability of spatial data across the Union;

- ensure that public authorities are given the technical possibility to link their spatial data sets to relevant services provided for under Union law on data governance and data sharing. This possibility should also be made available upon request to third parties whose spatial data sets comply with applicable requirements with regard to metadata and interoperability provided for under Union law on data governance and data sharing.

Data sharing

Member States should ensure that public authorities are able to access and exchange spatial data covered by this Directive that is necessary for the performance of public tasks that may have an impact on the environment. Provisions governing the re-use of public sector information are laid down in Directive (EU) 2019/1024 and other related Union legislation. Member States should, where necessary, adopt or maintain national measures to ensure effective access for the purposes of data sharing.