Text · Report parliamentary committee draft
On 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
Full title
On 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
Document ENVI-PR-787833 · COM(2025)0985 – C100338/2025 – 2025/0393(COD)
- Kind
- Report parliamentary committee draft ENVI-PR-787833
- Date
- 5 May 2026
- Committee
- Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety
- Rapporteur
- Emma Wiesner
- Dossier
- 2025-0393
More facts (3)
- Formats
- Official page PDF Word
- Subject matter
- ENV, DIFF
- Reference
- COM(2025)0985 – C100338/2025 – 2025/0393(COD)
Text
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Draft european parliament legislative resolution
–having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C100338/2025),
–having regard to the reasoned opinion submitted, within the framework of Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, by the French Senate and Italian Chamber, asserting that the draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity,
2.Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (10) Articles 11 and 12 of Directive 2007/2/EC specify that Member States are to establish and operate a network of services for the discovery, viewing, download, transformation and invoking of spatial data sets, and ensure that public authorities and third parties can link their spatial data sets and services to that network. Directive (EU) 2019/1024 sets the legal framework for open data and introduces the concept of high-value datasets, defined as data that is associated with important benefits for society and the economy when reused, which includes spatial data sets. Pursuant to Directive (EU) 2019/1024, high-value datasets are to be made available for re-use in machine-readable format, via suitable application programming interfaces and, where relevant, as a bulk download. Pursuant to Article 1(7) of Directive (EU) 2019/1024, that Directive sets out that the Directive governs the re-use of existing documents held by public sector bodies and public undertakings of the Member States, including documents to which Directive 2007/2/EC applies. To ensure consistency with Directive (EU) 2019/1024 and to avoid overlapping provisions, the requirements to establish and operate a network for spatial data services in Directive 2007/2/EC should be deleted. | (10) Articles 11 and 12 of Directive 2007/2/EC specify that Member States are to establish and operate a network of services for the discovery, viewing, download, transformation and invoking of spatial data sets, and ensure that public authorities and third parties can link their spatial data sets and services to that network. Directive (EU) 2019/1024 sets the legal framework for open data and introduces the concept of high-value datasets, defined as data that is associated with important benefits for society and the economy when reused, which includes spatial data sets. Pursuant to Directive (EU) 2019/1024, high-value datasets are to be made available for re-use in machine-readable format, via suitable application programming interfaces and, where relevant, as a bulk download. Pursuant to Article 1(7) of Directive (EU) 2019/1024, that Directive sets out that the Directive governs the re-use of existing documents held by public sector bodies and public undertakings of the Member States, including documents to which Directive 2007/2/EC applies. To ensure consistency with Directive (EU) 2019/1024 and to avoid overlapping provisions, the requirements to establish and operate a network for spatial data services in Directive 2007/2/EC should be lightened and limited to the clarification on how Member States can use appropriate technical arrangements for discovery and access. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (14) Article 17 of Directive 2007/2/EC requires Member States to adopt measures that make it possible for spatial data collected at one level of public authority to be shared between all the different levels of public authorities and to ensure that spatial data and services are made available under conditions that do not restrict their extensive use. Pursuant to Directive (EU) 2019/1024, data is open-by-default which also applies to spatial data, including spatial datasets falling within the scope of Directive 2007/2/EC. Article 17 should therefore be deleted for the purpose of simplifying the legal framework and avoiding overlapping rules. | (14) Article 17 of Directive 2007/2/EC requires Member States to adopt measures that make it possible for spatial data collected at one level of public authority to be shared between all the different levels of public authorities and to ensure that spatial data and services are made available under conditions that do not restrict their extensive use. Pursuant to Directive (EU) 2019/1024, data is open-by-default which also applies to spatial data, including spatial datasets falling within the scope of Directive 2007/2/EC. Article 17 should therefore focus on ensuring accessibility and data-sharing between public authorities, and the reuse of information within the public sector, in order to simplify the legal framework and to avoid overlapping rules. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (6) Article 9 to 12 are deleted. | (6) Articles 9, 10 and 12 are deleted. |
| Present text | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (6a) Article 11 is amended as follows: | |
| (a) the first paragraph is replaced by the following: | |
| 1. Member States shall establish and operate a network of the following services for the spatial data sets and services for which metadata have been created in accordance with this Directive: | Member States shall 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. |
| (a) discovery services making it possible to search for spatial data sets and services on the basis of the content of the corresponding metadata and to display the content of the metadata; | |
| (b) view services making it possible, as a minimum, to display, navigate, zoom in/out, pan, or overlay viewable spatial data sets and to display legend information and any relevant content of metadata; | |
| (c) download services, enabling copies of spatial data sets, or parts of such sets, to be downloaded and, where practicable, accessed directly; | |
| (d) transformation services, enabling spatial data sets to be transformed with a view to achieving interoperability; | |
| (e) services allowing spatial data services to be invoked. | |
| Those services shall take into account relevant user requirements and shall be easy to use, available to the public and accessible via the Internet or any other appropriate means of telecommunication. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (b) the second and third paragraphs are deleted. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (b) in the second subparagraph, the introductory wording is replaced by the following: | (b) the second subparagraph is amended as follows: |
| (i) the introductory wording is replaced by the following: | |
| Member States may limit public access to spatial data sets and services where such access could adversly affect any of the following:; | Member States may limit, or exclude, public access to spatial data sets and services where such access could adversly affect any of the following:; |
| Present text | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (ii) point (b) is replaced by the following: | |
| (b) international relations, public security or national defence; | (b) international relations, public security, national defence or public order; |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (10) Article 17 is deleted. | deleted |
| Present text | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (10a) Article 17 is amended as follows: | |
| (a) the first paragraph is replaced by the following: | |
| 1. Each Member State shall adopt measures for the sharing of spatial data sets and services between its public authorities referred to in point (9)(a) and (b) of Article 3. Those measures shall enable those public authorities to gain access to spatial data sets and services, and to exchange and use those sets and services, for the purposes of public tasks that may have an impact on the environment. | 1. Member States shall ensure that public authorities are able to access and exchange spatial data covered by this Directive necessary for the performance of public tasks that may have an impact on the environment. |
| Present text | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (b) paragraph 2is replaced by the following: | |
| 2. The measures provided for in paragraph 1 shall preclude any restrictions likely to create practical obstacles, occurring at the point of use, to the sharing of spatial data sets and services. | 2. Provisions governing the re-use of public sector information are laid down in Directive (EU) 2019/2024 and other related Union legislation. Member States shall, where necessary, adopt or maintain national measures to ensure effective access for the purposes referred to in paragraph 1. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (c) paragraphs 3 to 8 are deleted. |
Back matter, 2
Parts that accompany the text rather than belong to it: explanatory statement, annexes, opinions appended by other committees. Collapsed.
Explanatory statement 4 blocks
The INSPIRE Directive (Directive 2007/2/EC) was adopted in 2007 to establish a European Spatial Data Infrastructure, enabling the sharing of environmental spatial information among public sector organisations and improving public access to spatial data across the Union. Over the past two decades, it has been instrumental in overcoming barriers such as fragmented data infrastructures and barriers to data sharing — allowing information to be more easily found, shared, and used across Europe.
The Commission presented its proposal 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.
The rapporteur broadly supports the aims of simplification and alignment with horizontal data legislation. Administrative burden from duplicative and overlapping obligations should be reduced, and coherence with the Open Data Directive framework is welcome. However, the rapporteur considers that the Commission's approach in certain areas risks losing important safeguards that are specific to environmental spatial data.
Reducing duplication with the Open Data Directive is appropriate and necessary. But environmental spatial data — given its specific role in supporting environmental reporting, policy implementation, and cross-authority decision-making — justifies retaining targeted, proportionate obligations within INSPIRE itself, even as the general data policy framework evolves.
Annex: declaration of input 4 blocks
Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that she included in her report input on matters pertaining to the subject of the file that she received, in the preparation of the draft report, from the following interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from the following representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies:
| 1. Interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register |
| European Federation of National Associations of Water Services (39299129772-62) |
| (39299129772-62) |
| Lantmäteriet (Swedish mapping, cadastral and land registration authority) |
| Naturvårdsverket (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency) |
| French Permanent Representation to the EU |
| Swedish Permanent Representation to the EU |
| 2. Representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies |
| None |
Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur declares that she has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament's Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.
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- Licensed CC BY 4.0.
- Retrieved
- 25 September 2026
Cite as
European Parliament (2026). “DRAFT REPORT on 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”. Text, 5 May 2026. docId ENVI-PR-787833. EU Parl Watch Research. https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ENVI-PR-787833 (retrieved 25 September 2026). Data: EP Open Data API: document record, https://data.europarl.europa.eu/api/v2/documents/ENVI-PR-787833 (CC BY 4.0).
BibTeX
@misc{epw-text-envi-pr-787833,
author = {{European Parliament}},
title = {{DRAFT REPORT on 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}},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-05-05},
howpublished = {\url{https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ENVI-PR-787833}},
url = {https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ENVI-PR-787833},
urldate = {2026-09-25},
publisher = {EU Parl Watch Research},
note = {Text. docId ENVI-PR-787833. Data: EP Open Data API: document record (CC BY 4.0)}
}