CoR local event: 'EU environment law and INSPIRE: improving reporting and compliance' - Hoofdinhoud

A green week event, Rakvere, Estonia, 02 June 2016

The Estonian city of Rakvere will host an international conference on implementing environmental law next 2 June. Delegates will discuss new tools and mechanisms for public authorities and private partners to improve monitoring and reporting environmental law compliance in Europe. Several CoR i members and high-level EU and Estonian officials are expected, together with local administration officials and private and environmental stakeholders.

The Rakvere conference is a CoR event organised by Andres Jaadla, ALDE's coordinator of the ENVE commission at the CoR and rapporteur of an opinion approved last April that tackles environmental law implementation and reporting in Europe.

The Rakvere conference will debate around the following questions:

What mechanisms and tools can be developed to improve administrative practices in monitoring and reporting environmental law compliance in Europe?

How can local and regional authorities take advantage of Information Technology (IT) and e-governance tools as well as EU directives such as INSPIRE to better store and report environmental information?

In addition to new technologies and digital systems for data collection, to what extent is the simplification of environmental regulations necessary to improve reporting and overall implementation?

How can better environmental regulations and more efficient implementation boost growth and jobs creation at the local and regional level in the wider context of the knowledge economy?

How can local and regional authorities, in cooperation with and supported by national authorities and the EU, ensure that other actors as businesses and civil society organisations but also citizen's comply better with EU environmental law

The European Committee of the Regions' opinion on EU environment law: improving reporting and compliance included a set of concrete proposals such as to automatize and digitalise reporting tools, to establish guidance documents and 'implementation scorecards" and to further promote "Structured Implementation and Information Frameworks". Jaadla's opinion highlights specific good examples in environmental monitoring and reporting such as WISE, an EU data collection and information service on water.

INSPIRE is an EU Directive of May 2007 that establishes an infrastructure for spatial information in Europe to support environmental policies. The Directive addresses 34 spatial data themes needed for environmental applications, with key components specified through technical implementing rules. This makes INSPIRE a unique example of a legislative “regional  approach.

The event will take place in the smart house competence centre in Rakvere. It is organised with the support of the European Committee of the Regions.

To participate in the conference, please register:

by email: andres.jaadla@rakvere.ee

by phone: +3725203987

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The European Committee of the Regions currently supports local events organised in the Member States upon the initiative of one or more CoR members; EU local and regional authorities and their national associations, in partnership with the EU institutions and their national Offices, i.e. the information offices of the European Parliament (EPIOs), and the European Commission representations (REPs).