(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament ,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2004)0516)(1) ,

–   having regard to Articles 251(2) and 175(1) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C6-0099/2004),

–   having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A6-0108/2005),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

(1) Not yet published in OJ.

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1) ,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (2) ,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (3) ,

Whereas:

(1)  Community policy on the environment must aim at a high level of protection, while taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Community. In preparing its policy on the environment, the Community is required to take account of available scientific and technical data, environmental conditions in the various regions of the Community, the economic and social development of the Community as a whole and the balanced development of its regions. Many information themes related to spatial features are required for a broad range of environmental policies. Moreover, the same information is often needed for the formulation and implementation of other Community policies, which must integrate environmental protection requirements, in accordance with Article 6 of the Treaty. In order to bring about such integration, it is necessary to establish a measure of coordination between the users and providers of the information on those themes so that information and knowledge from different sectors can be combined.

(2)  The Sixth Environment Action Programme adopted by Decision No 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(4) requires full consideration to be given to ensuring that the Community's environmental policy-making is undertaken in an integrated way, taking into account regional and local differences. That Programme further calls for emphasis on the development of European initiatives to raise the awareness of the public and of local authorities and to improve scientific knowledge of and data and information on the state and trends of the environment. It also requires the following priority actions to be pursued: ex-ante and ex-post evaluation of policy measures, development of bridges between environmental and other actors in the fields of information, training, research, education and policies, ensuring regular information inter alia to inform the wider public and reviewing and regularly monitoring information and reporting systems. It additionally requires monitoring and data collection to be addressed efficiently in future environmental legislation and the development to be stepped up of earth monitoring applications and tools to support Member States in setting up adequate data collection systems. A number of serious problems exist regarding the availability, quality, organisation and accessibility of spatial information needed in order to achieve the objectives set out in the Sixth Environment Action Programme.

(3)  The problems regarding the availability, quality, organisation and accessibility of spatial information are common to a large number of policy and information themes and are experienced across the various levels of public authority. Solving these problems requires measures that address exchange, sharing, access and use of interoperable spatial data and spatial data services from across the various levels of public authority and from across different sectors. An infrastructure for spatial information in the Community should therefore be established.

(4)  The Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community, also referred to as INSPIRE, should be based on the infrastructures for spatial information that are created by the Member States and that are made compatible with common rules and are supplemented with measures at Community level. These measures should ensure that the infrastructures for spatial information created by the Member States are compatible and are useable in a transboundary context.

(5)  The infrastructures for spatial information in the Member States should be designed to ensure that spatial data are stored, made available and maintained at the most appropriate level; that it is possible to combine spatial data from different sources across the Community in a consistent way and share them between several users and applications; that it is possible for spatial data collected at one level of public authority to be shared between all the different levels of public authorities; that spatial data are made available under conditions that do not restrict their extensive use; that it is easy to discover available spatial data, to evaluate their fitness for purpose and to know the conditions applicable to their use.

(6)  There is a degree of overlap between the spatial information covered by this Directive and the information covered by Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information(5) . However, the technical and economic aspects of spatial information hamper its use in support of environmental policies and of the integration of environmental considerations into other policies. Consequently, it is necessary to make specific provisions for spatial information in terms of obligations, exceptions and safeguards. This Directive is without prejudice to Directive 2003/4/EC except with respect to certain provisions that address the grounds for limiting access to the spatial data covered by this Directive, avoiding the possibility of unduly limitations of access to the spatial data covered by this Directive.

(7)  This Directive should be without prejudice to Directive 2003/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the re-use of public sector information,(6) the objectives of which are complementary to those of this Directive. However, the Commission should take further measures to address issues relevant for the re-use of the specific category of public sector information covered by this Directive.

(8)  The establishment of an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community will represent significant added value for - and will also benefit from - other Community initiatives such as Council Regulation (EC) No 876/2002 of 21 May 2002 setting up the Galileo Joint Undertaking(7) and Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES): Establishing a GMES capacity by 2008 (8) . In order to exploit the synergies between these initiatives, Member States should consider using the data and services resulting from Galileo and GMES as they become available, in particular those related to the time and space references from Galileo.

(9)  Many initiatives are taken at national and Community level to collect, harmonise or organise the dissemination or use of spatial information. Such initiatives may be established by Community legislation (for example by Commission Decision 2000/479/EC of 17 July 2000 on the implementation of a European pollutant emission register (EPER) according to Article 15 of Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) (9) , Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 concerning monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the Community (Forest focus) (10) , in the framework of Community funded programmes (for example CORINE land cover, European Transport Policy Information System) or may emanate from initiatives taken at national or regional level. Not only will this Directive complement such initiatives by providing a framework that will enable them to become interoperable, it will also build upon existing experience and initiatives rather than duplicate the work that has already been done.

(10)  This Directive should apply to spatial data held by or on behalf of public authorities and to the use of spatial data by public authorities in the performance of their public tasks. Subject to certain conditions, however, it should also apply to spatial data held by natural or legal persons other than public authorities, provided that these natural or legal persons request this.

(11)  This Directive should not set requirements for the collection of new data on the state of the environment, or for reporting such information to the Commission, since those matters are regulated by other legislation related to the environment.

(12)  The implementation of the national infrastructures should be progressive and, accordingly, the spatial data themes covered by this Directive should be accorded different levels of priority. The implementation should take account of the extent to which spatial data is needed for a wide range of applications in various policy areas, of the priority of actions provided for under Community policies that need harmonised spatial data and of the progress already made by the harmonisation efforts undertaken in the Member States.

(13)  The loss of time and resources in searching for existing spatial data or in discovering if they may be used for a particular purpose is a key obstacle to the full exploitation of the data available. Member States should therefore provide descriptions of available spatial data sets and services in the form of metadata.

(14)  Since the wide diversity of formats and structures in which spatial data are organised and accessed in the Community hampers the efficient formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Community legislation that directly or indirectly affect the environment, implementing measures should be provided for in order to facilitate the use of spatial data from different sources across the Member States. Those measures should be designed to make the spatial data sets interoperable and Member States should ensure that any data or information needed for the purposes of achieving interoperability is not restricted in any way.

(15)  Network services are necessary for sharing spatial data between the various tiers of public authorities in the Community. Those network services should make it possible to discover, transform, view and download spatial data and to invoke spatial data and e-commerce services. The services of the network should work in accordance with commonly agreed specifications and minimum performance criteria in order to ensure the interoperability of the infrastructures established by the Member States. The network of services should also include network connection services to enable public authorities to make their spatial data sets and services available.

(16)  Experience in the Member States has shown that it is important, for the successful implementation of an infrastructure for spatial information, that a minimum number of services be made available to the public free of charge. Member States and the European Union should therefore make available, as a minimum and free of charge, the services for discovering and viewing spatial data sets.

(17)  Certain spatial data sets and services relevant to Community policies that directly or indirectly affect the environment are held and operated by third parties. Member States should therefore offer third parties the possibility of contributing to the national infrastructures, provided that the cohesion and ease of use of the spatial data and spatial data services covered by those infrastructures is thereby not impaired.

(18)  In order to assist the integration of the national infrastructures into the infrastructure for spatial information in the Community, Member States should provide access to their infrastructures through a Community geo-portal operated by the Commission, as well as through any access points they themselves decide to operate.

(19)  In order to make available information from various levels of public authority, Member States should remove the barriers faced in that regard by public authorities at national, regional and local level when performing their public tasks that may have a direct or indirect impact on the environment. These barriers should be removed at the point where the information is to be used for the public task. Where public authorities carry out commercial activities as well as public tasks, Member States should take appropriate measures to prevent distortion of competition.

(20)  Frameworks for the sharing of spatial data between public authorities should be neutral in respect not only of the public authorities within a Member State, but also of the public authorities in other Member States and of the Community institutions. Since the Community institutions and bodies frequently need to integrate and assess spatial information from all the Member States, they should be able to gain access to and use spatial data and spatial data services in accordance with harmonised conditions.

(21)  The preclusion of restrictions of a financial nature at the point of use does not prevent public authorities that produce spatial data sets and services from receiving financial compensation from the public authorities that use these spatial data sets and services.

(22)  With a view to stimulating the development of added-value services by third parties, for the benefit both of public authorities and the public, it is necessary to facilitate access to and re-use of spatial data that extend over administrative or national borders.

(23)  The effective implementation of infrastructures for spatial information requires coordination by all those with an interest in the establishment of such infrastructures, whether as contributors or users. Appropriate coordination structures should therefore be established which extend to the various levels of government and take account of the distribution of powers and responsibilities within the Member States.

(24)  In order to benefit from the relevant experience of European and international Standardisation bodies, it is appropriate that the measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive could be supported by standards adopted by European standardisation bodies in accordance with the procedure laid down in Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations(11) , and standards adopted by international standardisation bodies .

(25)  Since the European Environment Agency set up by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 of 7 May 1990 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network(12) has the task of providing the Community with objective, reliable and comparable environmental information at Community level, and aims inter alia to improve the flow of policy-relevant environmental information between Member States and the Community institutions, it should contribute actively to the implementation of this Directive.

(26)  This being a framework Directive, its implementation requires further decisions that take into account the evolving political, institutional and organisational context and the rapid technological progress in relation to spatial data systems and services. The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should therefore be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(13) .

(27)  Preparatory work for decisions concerning the implementation of this Directive and for the future evolution of the infrastructure for spatial information in the Community requires continuous monitoring of the implementation of the Directive and regular reporting.

(28)  The objective of this Directive, namely the establishment of an infrastructure for spatial information in the Community, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States because of the transnational aspects and because of the general need within the Community to co-ordinate the conditions of access to spatial information. It can therefore be better achieved at Community level, and the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Chapter I

General provisions

Article 1

1.  This Directive lays down the components or keystones of strategic planning designed to establish an infrastructure for spatial information in the Community, for the purposes of sustainable development policy in regard to the Community and policies or activities which may have a direct or indirect impact on the environment and spatial management .

2.  The infrastructure for spatial information in the Community shall be based on infrastructures for spatial information established and operated by the Member States and on any relevant infrastructure which already exists at Community level .

The component elements of those infrastructures shall include metadata, spatial data sets and spatial data services; network services and technologies; agreements on sharing, access and use; and coordination and monitoring mechanisms, processes and procedures .

Article 2

1.  This Directive is without prejudice to Directive 2003/4/EC, save where otherwise provided.

2.  This Directive is without prejudice to Directive 2003/98/EC.

Article 3

Article 4

1.  This Directive shall cover spatial data sets which fulfil the following conditions:

2.  This Directive shall also cover the spatial data services relating to the data contained in the spatial data sets referred to in paragraph 1.

3.  In the case of spatial data sets which comply with the condition set out in point (c) of paragraph 1, but in respect of which a third party holds intellectual property rights, the public authority may take action under this Directive only with the consent of that third party.

4.  By way of derogation from paragraph 1, this Directive shall cover spatial data sets held by or on behalf of a public authority operating at the lowest level of government within a Member State only where the collection or dissemination of those spatial data sets is coordinated by another public authority or is required under national law.

5.  The spatial data themes referred to in Annexes I, II and III may be adapted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2) to take into account the evolving needs for spatial data in support of Community policies that directly or indirectly affect the environment.

Chapter II

Metadata

Article 5

1.  Member States shall ensure that metadata are created for spatial data sets and services, and that those metadata are kept up to date.

2.  Metadata shall include information on the following:

3.  Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that metadata are complete and of appropriate quality.

Article 6

Article 7

The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27 (2), adopt rules for the implementation of Article 5 .

Chapter III

Interoperability of spatial data sets and services

Article 8

1.  The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27 (2), adopt implementing rules laying down the following:

2.  Representatives of the Member States at national, regional and local level may, by virtue of their importance as producers, holders and providers of spatial data, as well as natural and legal persons with an interest in the spatial data concerned by virtue of their role in the spatial information infrastructure that includes user, producer, added value service provider or coordinating body shall be given the opportunity to participate in preparatory discussions on the content of the implementing rules provided for in paragraph 1, prior to consideration by the Committee referred to in Article 27(1) .

Article 9

1.  The implementing rules provided for in Article 8(1) shall be designed to ensure that it is possible for spatial data sets to be combined, or for services to interact, in such a way that the result is a coherent combination of spatial data sets or services that represents added value, without requiring specific efforts on the part of a human operator or a machine.

2.  The implementing rules provided for in Article 8(1) shall cover the definition and classification of spatial objects relevant to the spatial data and the way in which those spatial data are geo-referenced.

Article 10

1.  In the case of spatial data sets corresponding to the themes listed in Annex I or II, the implementing rules provided for in Article 8(1) shall meet the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article.

2.  The implementing rules shall address the following aspects of spatial data:

3.  The implementing rules shall be designed to ensure consistency as between items of information which refer to the same location or between items of information which refer to the same object represented at different scales.

4.  The implementing rules shall be designed to ensure that information derived from different spatial data sets is comparable as regards the aspects referred to in Article 9 (2) and in paragraph 2 of this Article.

Article 11

Article 12

Member States shall ensure that spatial data sets collected or updated later than two years after the date of adoption of the corresponding specifications provided for in Article 8(1) are brought into conformity with those specifications, either through the adaptation of the spatial data sets or through their transformation.

Article 13

1.  Member States shall ensure that any information or data needed for compliance with the implementing rules provided for in Article 8(1) are made available to public authorities or third parties in accordance with conditions that do not restrict their use for that purpose.

2.  In order to ensure that spatial data relating to a spatial feature the location of which spans the frontier between two or more Member States are coherent, Member States shall, where appropriate, decide by mutual consent on the depiction and position of such common features.

Chapter IV

Network services

Article 14

1.  Member States shall establish and operate network connection services for making metadata and spatial data sets and services accessible through the services referred to in Article 15 (1).

2.  The network connection services referred to in paragraph 1 shall be made available to the public authorities.

3.  The network connection services referred to in paragraph 1 shall be made available to third parties upon their request, provided that their spatial data sets and services comply with implementing rules laying down obligations with regard, in particular, to metadata, network services and interoperability.

Article 15

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:

Those services shall be easy to use, available to the public, and accessible via the Internet or any other appropriate means of telecommunication .

2.  For the purposes of the services referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1, as a minimum the following combination of search criteria shall be implemented:

3.  The transformation services referred to in point (d) of paragraph 1 shall be combined with the other services referred to in that paragraph in such a way as to enable all those services to be operated in conformity with the implementing rules provided for in Article 8 .

Article 16

1.  By way of derogation from Article 4(2) of Directive 2003/4/EC and Article 15 (1) of this Directive, Member States may limit public access to the services referred to in points (b) to (e) of Article 15 (1), or to the e-commerce services referred to in Article 17 (2), where such access would adversely affect any of the following:

2.  The grounds for limiting access, as provided for in paragraph 1, shall be interpreted in a restrictive way, taking into account for the particular case the public interest served by providing this access. In every particular case, the public interest served by disclosure shall be weighed against the interest served by the limiting or conditioning the access. Member States may not, by virtue of paragraph 1(a), (d), (e) and (f), limit access to information on emissions into the environment.

Article 17

1.  Member States shall ensure that the services referred to in Article 15 (1)(a) and (b) are available to the public free of charge. In order to protect intellectual property rights held by public authorities in respect of spatial data, the data made available through the view services mentioned in Article 15 (1)(b) may be in a form preventing their re-use for commercial purposes, and a click-licence may be included to restrict the use that can be made of the data.

2.  Where public authorities levy charges for the services referred to in Article 15 (1)(c) or (e), Member States shall ensure that e-commerce services are available.

Article 18

1.  The Commission shall establish and operate a Community geo-portal.

2.  Member States shall provide access to the services referred to in Article 15 (1) through the Community geo-portal.

Member States may also provide access to those services through their own access points.

Article 19

Chapter V

Data-sharing and re-use

Article 20

1.  Member States shall adopt measures for the sharing of spatial data sets and services between public authorities. Those measures shall enable the public authorities of Member States, and the institutions and bodies of the Community, 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 a direct or indirect impact on the environment.

The measures provided for in the first subparagraph shall preclude, at the point of use, any restrictions, in particular of a transactional, procedural, legal, institutional or financial nature. Member States shall ensure that the implementation of these measures does not adversely affect the availability of spatial data sets and services.

2.  The same arrangements for sharing of spatial data as provided for in paragraph 1 shall be open to bodies established by international agreement to which the Community or Member States are party, for the performance of tasks that may have a direct or indirect impact on the environment.

3.  Member States shall take appropriate measures to prevent distortion of competition .

4.  The institutions and bodies of the Community shall have harmonised conditions for access to spatial data sets and services. The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27 (2), adopt implementing rules governing such access and the related rights of use.

Article 21

The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27 (2), adopt implementing rules to increase the potential of re-use of spatial data sets and services by third parties. These implementing rules may include the establishment of common licensing conditions.

The establishment of common licences shall not unnecessarily restrict possibilities for re-use of data and use of services and shall not be used to restrain competition.

Chapter VI

Coordination and complementary measures

Article 22

1.  Member States shall ensure that appropriate structures and mechanisms for coordinating the contributions of all those with an interest in their infrastructures for spatial information, across the different levels of government, are designated . All those with an interest in their infrastructures for spatial information shall include users, producers, added-value service providers and coordinating bodies.

2.  Those contributions shall include identification of user needs, provision of information on existing practices and provision of feedback on the implementation of this Directive.

Article 23

1.  The Commission shall be responsible for coordinating the infrastructure for spatial information in the Community at Community level and shall be assisted for that purpose by the European Environmental Agency.

2.  Each Member State shall identify the coordination structure to be responsible for contacts with the Commission in relation to this Directive, taking account of the distribution of powers and responsibilities within the Member States .

Article 24

The standards adopted by European standardisation bodies in accordance with the procedure laid down in Directive 98/34/EC and by international standardisation bodies may support the implementation of this Directive.

Chapter VII

Final provisions

Article 25

1.  Member States shall monitor the implementation and use of their infrastructures for spatial information.

2.  The monitoring provided for in paragraph 1 shall be carried out in accordance with implementing rules adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27 (2).

3.  The information resulting from the monitoring provided for in paragraph 1 shall be made accessible to the public and the Commission on a permanent basis.

Article 26

1.  Member States shall report to the Commission on the implementation of this Directive and on the experience gained in applying it. The report shall include:

2.  The report referred to in paragraph 1 shall be sent to the Commission every three years, starting in . ..(18) .

3.  The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27 (2), adopt rules for the implementation of paragraph 1.

Article 27

1.  The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee.

2.  Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

3.  The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 28

The Commission shall present to the European Parliament and to the Council by ... (19) and every six years thereafter a report on the application of this Directive, based on the reports of the Member States referred to in Article 26.

Where necessary, the report shall be accompanied by proposals for Community action.

Article 29

1.  Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by ... (20) *. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those measures and a correlation table between those measures and this Directive.

When Member States adopt these measures , they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States .

2.  Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 30

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

Article 31

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at .....,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

ANNEX I

SPATIAL DATA THEMES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLES 6(A), 10(1) AND 11(A)

1.  Coordinate reference systems

Systems for uniquely referencing spatial information in space as a set of coordinates (x,y,z) and/or latitude and longitude and height, based on a geodetic horizontal and vertical datum

2.  Geographical grid systems

Harmonised multi-resolution grid with a common point of origin and standardised location and size of grid cells.

3.  Geographical names

Names of areas, regions, localities, cities, suburbs, towns or settlements, or any geographical or topographical feature of public or historical interest.

4.  Administrative units

Units of administration dividing national territory for local, regional and national governance. The administrative units are separated by administrative boundaries. Also includes the boundaries of national territory and the coastline.

5.  Transport networks

Road, rail, air and water transport networks and related infrastructure. Includes links between different networks. Also includes the trans-European transport network as defined in Decision N°  1692/96/EC(21) and the future revisions of this decision.

6.  Hydrography

Hydrographic elements, both natural and artificial including rivers, lakes, transitional waters, reservoirs, aquifers, channels or other water bodies, where appropriate in the form of networks and linked with other networks. Includes river basins and sub-basins as defined in Directive 2000/60/EC(22) .

7.  Protected sites

Area designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives.

ANNEX II

SPATIAL DATA THEMES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLES 6(A), 10(1) AND 11(B)

1.  Elevation

Digital elevation models for land, ice and ocean surface. Includes terrestrial elevation, bathymetry and shoreline.

2.  Identifiers of properties

Geographic location of properties based on address identifiers, usually by road name, building number, postal code.

3.  Cadastral parcels

Areas defined by cadastral borders, with specific legal status of ownership.

4.  Land cover

Physical and biological cover of the earth's surface including artificial surfaces, agricultural areas, forests, (semi-)natural areas, wetlands, water bodies.

5.  Orthoimagery

Geo-referenced image data of the Earth's surface, from either satellite or airborne sensors.

6.  Geology

Geology characterised according to composition and structure, and the changes and restructuring it has undergone in its stratification. Includes bedrock and geomorphology.

ANNEX III

SPATIAL DATA THEMES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLES 6(B) AND 11(B)

1.  Statistical units

Units for referencing census or other statistical information.

2.  Buildings

Geographical location of buildings.

3.  Soil

Soils and subsoil characterised according to depth, texture, structure and content of particles and organic material, stoniness, erosion, where appropriate mean slope and anticipated water storage capacity .

4.  Land use

Territory characterised according to its current and future functional dimension or socio-economic purpose (e.g. residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural, forestry, recreational).

5.  Human health and safety

Geographical distribution of morbidity and mortality linked directly (epidemics, spread of diseases, natural disasters, health effects due to environmental stress, air pollution, chemicals, depletion of the ozone layer, noise, etc.) or indirectly (food, genetically modified organisms under applicable Community legislation , stress, etc.) to the quality of the environment. Geographical distribution of road accidents.

6.  Utility and government services

Utility and government services comprise underground and above-ground utility networks and facilities such as drains, waste treatment, energy supply, telecommunications and water supply, and administrative and social government services such as authorities, schools and hospitals.

7.  Environmental monitoring facilities

The installation and operation of environmental monitoring facilities entail the observation and measurement of emissions, of the state of environmental media (marine environment, inland surface waters and underground waters, air and soil) and of other parameters of the ecosystem (biodiversity, ecological conditions for plant growth, etc.) by or on behalf of the authorities.

8.  Production and industrial facilities

Industrial production sites. Includes water abstraction facilities, mining, storage sites.

9.  Agricultural and aquaculture facilities

Farming equipment and production facilities (including irrigation systems, greenhouses and stables).

10.  Population distribution – demography

Geographical distribution of people aggregated by grid, region, administrative unit or other analytical unit. This also includes population characteristics and activity levels.

11.  Area management/restriction/regulation zones & reporting units

Areas managed, regulated or used for reporting at international, European, national, regional and local levels. Includes dumping sites, restricted areas around drinking water sources, nitrate-vulnerable zones, regulated fairways at sea or large inland waters, areas for the dumping of waste, noise restriction zones, prospecting and mining permit areas, river basin districts, areas for management of the coast and reporting units relevant to the environment .

12.  Areas under anthropogenic stress

Areas under anthropogenic stress including polluted areas and noise and radiation zones.

13.  Natural risk zones

Vulnerable areas characterised according to natural hazards (all atmospheric, hydrologic, seismic, volcanic and wildfire phenomena that, because of their location, severity, and frequency, have the potential to seriously affect society), e.g. floods, snowslides , avalanches, forest fires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides and subsidence .

14.  Atmospheric conditions

Physical conditions in the atmosphere. Includes spatial data based on measurements, on models or on a combination thereof and includes measurement locations.

15.  Meteorological geographical features

Weather conditions and their measurements; precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration, wind speed and direction.

16.  Oceanographic geographical features

Physical conditions of oceans (currents, salinity, wave heights, etc.).

17.  Sea regions

Physical conditions of seas and saline water bodies divided into regions and sub-regions with common characteristics.

18.  Bio-geographical regions

Areas of relatively homogeneous ecological conditions with common characteristics.

19.  Habitats and biotopes

Geographical areas characterised by specific ecological conditions and physically supporting the organisms that live there. Includes terrestrial or aquatic areas distinguished by geographical, abiotic and biotic features, whether entirely natural or semi-natural. Includes small features of the rural landscape – hedgerows, brooks, etc.

20.  Species distribution

Geographical distribution of occurrence of animal and plant species aggregated by grid, region, administrative unit or other analytical unit.

21.  Renewable energy resources

(1) OJ C (2) OJ C (3) Position of the European Parliament of 7 June 2005. (4) OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1. (5) OJ L 41, 14.2.2003, p. 26. (6) OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 90. (7) OJ L 138, 28.5.2002, p. 1. (8) COM(2004)0065 . (9) OJ L 192, 28.7.2000, p. 36. (10) OJ L 324, 11.12.2003, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 788/2004 (OJ L 138, 30.4.2004, p. 17). (11) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37. Directive as last amended by the 2003 Act of Accession. (12) OJ L 120, 11.5 .1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1641/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 1). (13) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. (14) * 3 years after the date of entry into force of this Directive. (15) ** 6 years after the date of entry into force of the Directive. (16) * 2 years after the date of entry into force of this Directive. (17) ** 5 years after the date of entry into force of this Directive. (18) * Three years after the date of entry into force of this Directive. (19) * Seven years after the date of entry into force of this Directive. (20) ** Two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive . (21) Decision No 1692/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network (OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p. 1). Decision as last amended by Decision No 884/2004/EC (OJ L 167, 30.4.2004, p. 1). (22) Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1). Directive as amended by Decision No 2455/2001/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2001, p. 1).