Development is underway on EuroCoreReferenceMap, a new pan‑European geospatial dataset.
The announcement of the project was made jointly by the national mapping authorities of France, Germany and the Netherlands, together with their membership association, EuroGeographics.
The partners say that EuroCoreReferenceMap will be “the only high‑value, large‑scale geospatial dataset created specifically for EU policymakers by national mapping organisations using their authoritative national data”.
It will cover all EU Member States and Switzerland, with the ambition to incorporate data from official sources across geographical Europe.
European advantage
The dataset integrates core geospatial information to deliver three EU priority themes: Administrative boundaries, transport networks and hydrography.
The project builds on the success of the Open Maps For Europe 2 (OME2) project and will run until the end of 2028.
The EuroCoreReferenceMap Consortium — France’s National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information (IGN France), Germany’s Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG), The Netherlands’ Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency (Kadaster Netherlands) and EuroGeographics — have committed significant investment to its development.
They have the backing of EuroGeographics members — Europe’s national mapping, cadastral and land registration authorities — which endorsed the three‑year initiative at the Association’s 2025 General Assembly.
“Geospatial data from our members is a vital component of Europe’s critical infrastructure and one of its most valuable sovereign assets for evidence-based decision-making,” says Angela Baker, Head of Operations and Data, EuroGeographics.
“EuroCoreReferenceMap further strengthens Europe’s digital sovereignty by making authoritative pan-European data more interoperable, accessible and useable.
“This enhanced capability supports EU‑wide systems and enables cross‑domain applications for Europe’s strategic priorities — from security and climate resilience to sustainable mobility.”
High-value data
According to Nicolas Paparoditis, Deputy Director‑General, IGN France and Member of EuroGeographics Management Board, OME2 “showed how effectively Europe’s national mapping authorities can collaborate to transform EU high‑value data requirements into a practical solution aligned with UN GGIM recommendations”.
“Our continued work in geospatial data harmonisation supports Member States by reducing duplication and promoting reusable techniques and shared good practices.”
OME2, which ended in December 2025, provided a proof-of-concept that bridges policy and practice to transform INSPIRE and high-value data requirements into accessible and useable pan-European data.
The INSPIRE Directive called for “establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in Europe to support Community environmental policies, and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment”.
