INSPIRE History

The process put in place by the European Commission to develop INSPIRE is characterised by a degree of openness, participation, and transparency which makes it a model for policy-making in Europe. From the outset it was recognised that key stakeholders in each Member State had to be engaged in shaping the proposal.

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  • INSPIRE Expert Group and Working Groups



    In September 2001, the first INSPIRE, or at that time the E-ESDI Expert group, was convened in Brussels. The INSPIRE Expert group was composed of representatives of the Commission, the EEA and of nominated representatives of the Member States' environmental and geographic information communities. A number of observers representing governmental bodies and NGO's were also invited to participate.

    In December 2001, an ESDI Organisation and E-ESDI Action Plan was published by the Commission. It served as the reference document for preparing the ground for the proposal for an E-ESDI legislative framework: the creation of the necessary organisational entities and the implementation of the overall action plan. Working groups were created to work the topics: Common Reference Sata and Metadata, Architecture and Standards, Legal Aspects and Policy, Funding and Implementation Structures and Impact Analysis.

  • MOU between on INSPIRE

    A Memorandum of understanding between Commissioners Wallstróm, Solbes, Busquin on INSPIRE. Full details

    Position papers published

    Position papers on Common Reference Data and Metadata, Architecture and Standards, Legal Aspects and Policy, Funding and Implementation Structures and Environmental Thematic User Needs published


  • Open Consultation and Impact Assessment

    In March 2003 the Commission launched an open consultation on proposal for a Framework Directive on INSPIRE. A total of 185 organisations and individuals from the EU Member States and the accession countries responded to the Internet consultation.

    In parallel to this process, INSPIRE was one of the first proposed Directives to be subject to a full Extended Impact Assessment. This analysis, also conducted with representatives of the Member States from both environment and geographic sectors, concluded that the proposal would yield estimated benefits six times greater than the estimated costs in the environmental sector alone.


  • Text adopted by the Commission

    In July 2004, the INSPIRE Proposal for a Directive was adopted by the Commission. This was a major milestone for the use of Geographical Information in Europe as a contribution to environmental policy and sustainable development. It was the first step in a co-decision procedure that led to the formal adoption of the INSPIRE Directive, which then has to be implemented in every EU Member State.

    Text adopted by the commission 23/07/2004


  • Wider Stakeholder Involvement

    Whilst the process continued, the INSPIRE Work Programme published in April 2005 identified a step-wise approach for the definition and preparation of the detailed Implementing Rules needed for a coherent application of the Directive. Such Implementing Rules cannot be developed in isolation but need to take into account of the broader international developments in the field of spatial data infrastructures and e-government, as well as the many initiatives, operational experiences, and international agreements and protocols already in place across the many thematic and geographical communities having a stake in the development of INSPIRE. With these considerations in mind, an open call was launched on March 11th 2005 for the registration of interest by Spatial Data Interest Communities (SDIC) and Legally Mandated Organizations (LMO). The Work Programme identified SDICs as self-organised communities bringing together the human expertise, technical competence, financial resources and policies of users, producers and transformers of spatial information organized by geographic region, societal sector or thematic issue. LMO represent instead those organizations at local, regional, national, or international level that have a formal legal mandate giving them the responsibility for specific thematic data resources.

    As part of the open call, SDICs and LMOs where asked to put forward experts and reference material to support the preparation of the Implementing Rules.

    Text adopted by Parliament
    Text adopted by Parliament 07/06/2005
    Council political agreement
    Council political agreement - recitals 07/07/2005
    Council political agreement - articles 24/06/2005
    Common position 23/01/2006


  • Communication from the Commission

    Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament on the proposed Parliament and Council amendments to INSPIRE 16/02/2006
    Opinion of the Commission on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council's Common Position 13/09/2006































  • Conciliation Process

    The formal conciliation process began on the 21st November 2006 after intensive informal discussions between the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the Commission. The final directive was agreed upon by the Council and EP. The Commission's role at this stage in the negotations was to facilitate a compromise between the two.

    Joint text approved by Conciliation Committee (EN) 17/01/2007

    Adoption of INSPIRE

    The 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) was published in the official Journal on the 25th April 2007. The INSPIRE Directive entered into force on the 15th May 2007














  • Implementing Rules

    To ensure that the spatial data infrastructures of the Member States are compatible and usable in a Community and transboundary context, the Directive requires that common Implementing Rules (IR) are adopted in a number of specific areas (Metadata, Data Specifications, Netowrk Services, Data and Service Sharing and Monitoring and Reporting). These IRs are adopted as Commission Decisions, and are binding in their entirety. The Commission is assisted in the process of adopting such rules by a regulatory committee composed by representatives of the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission (this is known as the Comitology procedure). 

    INSPIRE Metadata Regulation 03.12.2008

    Commission Decision regarding INSPIRE monitoring and reporting 05.06.2009

    Regulation on INSPIRE Network Services 19.10.2009

    Draft Legislation

    The following have been agreed upon by the INSPIRE committee but are still in the process of being adopted.

    Draft Regulation on INSPIRE Data and Service Sharing 05.06.2009

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