The INSPIRE registers are a collection of reference codes based on the INSPIRE Directive, Implementing Rules and Technical Guidelines.
By using reference codes within the INSPIRE registry, you can:
Avoid common errors such as entering synonyms or spelling mistakes when filling in online forms.
Facilitate the internationalisation of user interfaces by providing multilingual labels
Ensure semantic interoperability when exchanging data between systems and applications
Make reference codes gain value when widely re-used and referenced
The INSPIRE register federation is a distributed federation of registers related to the INSPIRE Directive.
The European Commission is operating a (central) registry providing common INSPIRE registers, e.g. to manage INSPIRE code lists or themes. Where Member States extend these code lists, they are obliged to make available the extended values in local registers. Such local registers can also support other use cases, e.g. the management of organisations in a country that have to implement INSPIRE, or thematic vocabularies, such as those provided by EU institutions and bodies.
The INSPIRE Register Federation provides information about the registers included in the federation and the relationships between them, and allows searching for registers and the items contained in them. The Federation can be accessed using the graphical user interface or API, both of which are publicly accessible.
It is crucial that the content of these registers is managed in a controlled way, under the umbrella of the INSPIRE maintenance and implementation expert group (MIG). The bodies responsible for this controlled management are the control body and submitting organisations.
The submitting organisations for the central INSPIRE registers and INSPIRE register federation are responsible to submit proposals for changes to the INSPIRE registry. There is one submitting organisation per country, in addition to the JRC, EEA and DG ENV.
The control body is a small group of technical experts appointed to decide on whether the submitted change proposals to the content of a register can be accepted.
In its recent meeting, the INSPIRE maintenance and implementation expert group (MIG) has extended the mandate of the control body and submitting organisations until the end of 2020, in order to guarantee the long-term management of the INSPIRE registers.