The scope of this action under "Working area 2: End user applications" of the Maintenance and Implementation Work Programme 2017-2020 is to further develop a list of datasets related to environmental reporting and support Member States with making these datasets accessible through the European Spatial Data Infrastructure in a stepwise manner. The list also reflects the data gaps identified during the evaluation of the state-of-implementation and the fitness of the Directive for its intended purpose (a so-called REFIT evaluation). In the scope is also a provision of help (e.g. update of the SW tool - Find your scope /HALE) and other possible support to transform the priority datasets according to the INSPIRE requirements and proposal for streamlining of selected/prioritized/agreed environmental reporting obligations based on the detailed spatial object mapping.
The realisation of the proposal for possible streamlining of reporting obligations and if applicable INSPIRE IRs/TGs is out of scope since this role is attributed to the Committee or the co-legislator if reporting obligations have to be amended in EU law. However, as a result of this work, suggestions can be made which will be transmitted to the relevant units in the Commission dealing with these issues.
The main objectives for this action are to:
The list is a living inventory of environmental information needs and as such provides an instrument to:
The 5th meeting of the MIG in December 2016 has endorsed a mandate for this action further detailing the scope, tasks, expected outcomes and timeline. A subgroup will be set up under the MIG to execute the tasks and the further maintenance of the list in collaboration with experts from the environmental thematic and reporting communities.
The links contain information (agendas, meeting documents, minutes) on the meetings of the priority eReporting datasets subgroup.
list of priority datasets v2.1 final
The current version of the list of priority data sets, version 2.1 final as of October 2020, is to be considered the reference version of the list for implementation by Member States. The list has been scrutinized and further detailed by the subgroup (Member States, Commission and EEA).
At their meeting on 3 June 2016, the Directors of DG ENV (Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea) and EEA (Hans Bruyninckx) agreed that we are at a crucial moment in the implementation process for the INSPIRE Directive and that clarity on the strategic direction regarding the EU level use of INSPIRE in relation to reporting under environment policies, There was a commitment to develop such a strategic direction jointly. Hence, it was agreed to develop a strategic concept document on "The future of eReporting and the link to INSPIRE". This conceptual note would aim at resolving the issues discussed over the past and today and creating a common understanding and ambition level and a joint DG ENV/EEA long term perspective ("landing zone") of where we intend to go together. It will then become the basis to translate this into a realistic multiannual planning with clear priority setting and linked to the environment policy and reporting agenda as it foreseeable for the coming years.
This document (The future of eReporting and the link to INSPIRE (Concept)) responds to this request and represents the common view of DG ENV and the EEA at the point of drafting. A wide consultation with Member State experts working with DG ENV (e.g. in the context of INSPIRE or under the various reporting groups) and with the EEA (e.g. in the context of EIONET) took place between October 2016 and January 2017. Several comments were received and led to a revision of this document.
This revised version is still considered a living document as it will need to be developed and refined further as implementation of this concept unfolds. However, it is the intention of DG ENV and the EEA that this version will now be applied in selected areas. This would allow to demonstrate in more detail what the application of this concept means in practice. An initial implementation will be done as a follow up to the Reporting Fitness Check. Some discussions in thematic areas are already ongoing (e.g. water, industrial emissions, …). The work on this will be presented and discussed in the sub-group established under the INSPIRE MIWP (action 2016.5), the respective EIONET group(s) and the thematic groups that are concerned. In late 2017/early 2018, DG ENV and the EEA will review this concept note in the light of developments, and revise it, if and as necessary.
Any comments on the document or question to this work can be sent to joeri.robbrecht@ec.europa.eu and stefan.jensen@eea.europa.eu.
This wiki page on implementation guidance and support contains more detailed information and guidance on the implementation of the priority list both from a technical and an information perspective.
A request to the MIG for nominating experts for this subgroup was sent out on 20 March 2017. Following experts have been nominated (status 27/11/2019):