INSPIRE Knowledge Base

Estonia - 2020: Country Fiche

Table of Contents
  • Introduction
  • State of Play
    • Coordination
    • Functioning and coordination of the infrastructure
    • Usage of the infrastructure for spatial information
    • Data Sharing Arrangements
    • Costs and Benefits
  • Key Facts and Figures. 
    • Monitoring Indicators
Introduction

The INSPIRE Directive sets the minimum conditions for interoperable sharing and exchange of spatial data across Europe as part of a larger European Interoperability Framework and the e-Government Action Plan that contributes to the Digital Single Market Agenda. Article 21 of INSPIRE Directive defines the basic principles for monitoring and reporting. More detailed implementing rules regarding INSPIRE monitoring and reporting have been adopted as Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1372 on the 19th August 2019.

This country fiche highlights the progress in the various areas of INSPIRE implementation. It includes information on monitoring 2019 acquired in December 2019 and Member States update.

State Of Play

A high-level view on the governance, use and impact of the INSPIRE Directive in Estonia. More detailed information is available on the INSPIRE knowledge base.

Coordination

National Contact Point
Name of Public Authority: 
Estonian Land Board
Contact Email: 
Click to email
National INSPIRE Website: 
https://geoportaal.ee/
MIG Contacts: 
Contact Person: 
Mart Randmäe
Email: 
mart.randmae@maaamet.ee
Contact Person: 
Artu Ellmann
Email: 
artu.ellmann@maaamet.ee
MIG T Contacts: 
Contact Person: 
Mart Randmäe
Email: 
mart.randmae@maaamet.ee
Contact Person: 
Kaire Veeperv
Email: 
kaire.veeperv@maaamet.ee
Coordination Structure & Progress: 
  • The Ministry of the Environment is the responsible body for the implementation of the INSPIRE directive in Estonia. In accordance with the Spatial Data Act, passed on 28 February 2011, the contact point was also appointed to be the Estonian Land Board.
  • The national implementation of the INSPIRE Directive is coordinated by Estonian Land Board with maintaining national SDI portals like Estonian Geoportal and Estonian Land Board geoportal. Also providing support and guidance for national data owners. Estonian Land Board is responsible for data harmonizing and providing Estonian catalog service and most of the INSPIRE valid spatial data services with collaboration Information Technology Centre of the Ministry of the Environment. As INSPIRE coordinator Estonian Land Board has representatives in MIG-T and MIG.
  • In most cases, the Ministries are the data owners by law, but their subdivisions are responsible authorities for the data. Ministries have representatives in different committees of European Commission to support understanding political and technical needs of other committees for INSPIRE data. Ministries subdivisions work on a daily basis with Estonian Land Board technical personnel to support data harmonization to INSPIRE valid data.

Functioning and coordination of the infrastructure

  • The INSPIRE Directive (2007/2/EC) was transposed in Estonia in 2011 by the Spatial Data Act (RT I, 28.02.2011). The Estonian Information Society Agenda 2020 is defining the development trends of the information society. It is using the objectives arising from the INSPIRE Directive. An action plan 2017-2021 is prepared on the basis of the agenda, in order to define specific operations for the development of the entire information society, taking into account the INSPIRE directive.
  • Estonia has connected their national discovery service to the EU geoportal allowing for the publication of metadata for available spatial data sets and services on the EU geoportal.
  • Estonian Land Board is responsible for maintaining Estonian Geoportal (INSPIRE geoportal) and Estonian Land Board geoportal (National SDI that represents through INSPIRE services also INSPIRE data).
  • The metadata of all the databases and viewing services introduced to the Estonian National Geoportal can also be found through the relevant user interface https://inspire.maaamet.ee/metaandmed.
  • More information about Estonian Geoportal can be obtained at https://inspire.maaamet.ee/inspire

 

  • Progress
    • Estonia went over to new technical SDI strategy using open source software (GeoServer and GeoNetwork) for implementing INSPIRE. Estonian Land Board coordinated the change to go over to an open source software with the help of Information Technology Centre of the Ministry of the Environment. Work is still ongoing and we hope to get the new open source software platform running in the beginning of 2020 second half.
    • In 2019 new INSPIRE coordinating and technical workgroup was established inside Estonian Land Board. It is fluently working and supporting INSPIRE spatial data owners.

Usage of the infrastructure for spatial information

  • The usage of INSPIRE spatial information has been stabilized in couple of years. There is also no significant changes on comparing Estonian INSPIRE view or download services. One of the main reason could be that the Estonian Land Board published in 1 July 2018 most of its spatial data as open data. As most of the Estonian INSPIRE services in 2018 and 2019 were INSPIRE I and II annexes themes and Estonian Land Board was mostly these themes data owner. Local public sector preferred to use other possibilities than INSPIRE to collect data.

Data sharing arrangements

  • From 2018 the spatial data of the Estonian Land Board is available for free download to everyone. As a result there is no need to ask spatial data from Estonian Land Board in a query format. INSPIRE data and services were also directly affected by this decision and are mostly free of charge. For the conditions of use Estonian Land Board has made their own Land Board Open Data License.
  • Environmental spatial data is also mostly free of charge but is not so easily usable for people. To represent spatial location and basic attributes The Estonian Environment Information Centre has published simple environmental spatial data view and download services. More detailed information is exchanged with government institutions.
  • For data exchange between government institutions there is an overall agreement that data exchange is free from charge.

Costs and benefits

  • Compared to 2018 the costs of 2019 have no significant changes. Implementation of the INSPIRE Directive vary between actors and are difficult to estimate precisely. Most of the workers in the responsible authorities of INSPIRE data are doing it as part of their daily job responsibilities and do not get extra benefit for it.
    • Maintenance of annexes I and II services in accordance with the INSPIRE Directive requirements (recurrent annual costs) in an estimated amount of EUR 35 000.
    • Coordination costs have been the salary costs of two employees in the Estonian Land Board, who coordinate the entire implementation of the INSPIRE Directive in Estonia. The workload of these two people on INSPIRE topics corresponds to 0.5 per full-time workload for the whole reporting period. In addition, the Land Board has 3 people dealing with different INSPIRE topics: communication with information holders, technical advice, participation in workgroups, metadata filling, monitoring and management, reporting, planning of Estonian geoportal development, etc. The workload of these people is estimated to be a full-time workload of 2.5 persons for the whole reporting period.
    • Information Technology Centre of the Ministry of the Environment has made the salary costs and technical costs in a value of EUR 80 000. They have 6 workers assigned on INSPIRE whom workload corresponds to 3 per full-time workload for the whole reporting period.

 

  • Benefits of 2019 implementing the INSPIRE Directive vary between actors. The monetary value information of the total benefits is currently unavailable. According to Estonian Land Board INSPIRE workgroup experiences, the key benefits can be summed up as:
    • organizing and re-developing databases has made data (especially environment data) more accessible and clear to all users;
    • the cooperation between actors have increased (interinstitutional cooperation);
    • opportunities to use and implement new technical solutions nationally;
    • overall data discoverability and availability increase.
Key facts and figures