The INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 25 April 2007 and entered into force on 15 May 2007. INSPIRE lays down general rules for the establishment of an infrastructure for spatial information in Europe, for the purposes of environmental policies and policies or activities which may have a direct or indirect impact on the environment.

INSPIRE should be based on the infrastructures for spatial information that are created by the Member States and that are made compatible with common Implementing 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 usable in a Community and transboundary context.