To improve mapping in Europe, the European Commission is launching the INSPIRE (INfrastructure for SPatial InfoRmation in the European Union) initiative. A database with consistent geographical information, INSPIRE will support environmental protection policies as well as infrastructure development, agriculture and maritime navigation. A new Directive proposed today [23 July 2004] calls on EU Member States to put geographical information on a publicly accessible electronic network and to progressively harmonise it. The proposed Directive requires EU Member States to publish geographical information on publicly accessible Internet websites, which will be co-ordinated by the INSPIRE “geo-portal”. Member States will also develop, with the support of the European Commission, common rules for geographical information to gather new, or to update existing, information. The system should be fully operational within 10 years.
