The European Parliament's Environment Committee (ENVI) on 1 June 2026 debated the revision of the INSPIRE directive as part of the environmental omnibus simplification package, with most MEPs supporting the Commission's aim to simplify and align the directive with horizontal data legislation, but warning against removing core instruments that ensure effectiveness.
Rapporteur Emma Wiesner (Renew, Sweden) presented a draft report that broadly supports simplification but proposes retaining targeted INSPIRE-specific requirements for interoperability and data sharing among public authorities. Shadows from EPP (Esther Herranz García), S&D (Analisa Corvado), Greens/EFA (Rasmus Nordqvist), and The Left (Valentina Palmisano) all welcomed simplification but stressed the need to preserve data quality, comparability, and specific spatial data standards.
Greens/EFA questioned whether deleted articles on network services and data sharing are fully covered by the Open Data Directive, and raised concerns about water service providers' request to limit public access to spatial data. The Left emphasized not dismantling a functioning system. Commission representative Ewa Malz confirmed alignment with the rapporteur's approach, noted member states' support for keeping data-sharing provisions, and advised leaving third-party data issues to the parallel Data Governance Act revision.
Amendments are due 10 June, with a vote in ENVI scheduled for 10 September and plenary in October.
Integrated wildfire risk management
The committee also held an exchange of views with Commissioners Hadja Lahbib (Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality) and Jessika Roswall (Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy) on the communication on integrated wildfire risk management. Lahbib stressed better coordination, preparedness (including AI-based early warning), and response (expanding the rescEU fleet). Roswall emphasized prevention through landscape management, CAP support, and ecosystem restoration, noting that land abandonment increases fire risk.
MEPs broadly supported the integrated approach, with EPP calling for better cross-border coordination and linking prevention to existing rules.
Stakeholder impacts
The INSPIRE revision balances simplification with data quality: EU producers of spatial data (e.g., environmental agencies) benefit from reduced administrative burden but may face uncertainty if specific standards are removed. EU consumers and civil society gain from potentially easier access to environmental data, but risk losing comparability if interoperability requirements are diluted. National authorities face trade-offs between lower compliance costs and maintaining data-sharing obligations. The water sector's push to limit public access highlights a tension between business confidentiality and transparency.
For wildfire management, EU taxpayers fund expanded rescEU fleets and AI systems, while farmers and landowners may face new landscape management obligations under CAP. The integrated approach shifts focus from reactive firefighting to prevention, potentially reducing long-term costs but requiring upfront investment.