GreenData4All – updated rules on geospatial environmental data and access to environmental information

Key points

The EESC:

• welcomes the revision of Directive 2007/2/EC (INSPIRE) and the proposed amendments aimed at simplifying obligations, removing obsolete provisions, reducing duplication and modernising governance, while preserving a coherent and harmonised European infrastructure for spatial information;
• supports the alignment of the revised INSPIRE framework with Directive (EU) 2019/1024 on open data and the re-use of public sector information and welcomes the removal of overlapping provisions, reflecting the evolution towards a single European data ecosystem;
• reiterates that the data addressed under the GreenData4All initiative are cross-border and cross-sectoral and constitute a strategic public asset for Member States and Union policies;
• would prefer an explicit reference to social partners and civil society organisations in Article 18 of Directive 2007/2/EC to avoid divergent interpretations and discretionary application at Member State level;
• underlines that the simplification and modernisation of the INSPIRE framework is expected to generate annual cost savings of approximately EUR 12 million, reducing therefore compliance costs for public authorities, and facilitating access to high-value geospatial datasets for both public and private users;
• recommends ensuring that the Member States have access to appropriate hardware and software tools so that they can use the same technical standards and procedures and thus ensure data interoperability;
• highlights that the intergenerational fairness principle is relevant in the harvesting, processing and publication of spatial data since it is used to inform policy choices with lasting environmental and societal impacts;
• points out that intergenerational fairness includes avoiding environmental harm, addressing social consequences — including exclusion in ‘white zones’ — and considering potential negative impacts of AI, ensuring spatial data infrastructure remains accessible and beneficial to both current and future generations;
• strongly recommends that the implementation of the revised INSPIRE framework be accompanied by reinforced efforts to ensure that European spatial data are collected, stored, processed and protected within the Union, under European legal jurisdiction.