EUROPE is addressing issues such as globalization, climate change, environmental problems, etc., where borders count very little and interest of citizens on a day-to-day basis must be promoted. In order to enable citizens, regional and local communities to derive full benefit from setting-up an area without internal frontiers, the Lisbon Treaty points out that the Union shall establish and develop trans-European networks and shall promote the interconnection and interoperability of such networks.
INSPIRE directive considers that spatial information is needed for the implementation of Community policies which must integrate environmental protection in accordance with Article 6 of the Treaty, and establishes the bases for an infrastructure for spatial information in Europe in order to support Union environmental policies and those activities which may have an impact on the environment.
INSPIRE also remarks the problems related to availability, quality, organization, accessibility, use and interoperability of spatial information so defines 34 spatial data themes related to environmental applications and requires, in order to ensure that infrastructures of the Member States are compatible and usable in a trans-boundary context, that common Implementing Rules are adopted for all Member States.
INSPIRE defines these Implementation Rules in specific areas: Metatada, Data Specifications, Network Services, Data and Service Sharing and Monitoring and Reporting.
HABITATS project (Social Validation of INSPIRE Annex III Data Structures in EU Habitats) focuses in the adoption of INSPIRE standards through a participatory process to design and validate Data, Metadata and Services Specifications with real citizens and business.