1. GISCO Torbiörn Carlquist Statistical Office of the European Commission
Eurostat - unit E4 / GISCO
BECH D3/710
L-2920 Luxembourg
+(352)

2. GISCO : Mandate Within Eurostat Within the Commission
Within the European statistical system
International co-operation
GISCO = Geographical Information System for the Commission

3. GISCO : Within Eurostat
raise awareness
promote and stimulate the use of GIS
develop a policy with respect to GIS
manage the GISCO reference database
ensure quality control of the products
act as a reference centre
oversee GIS related projects

4. GISCO : Within the Commission
manage the GISCO reference database including its structure,architecture, data transfer, etc.
COGI - COmmission inter-service group on Geographical Information
chair the GISCO user committee and technical committee
express and support user’s needs in terms of software and hardware

5. GISCO : Within the ESS
promote geo-referencing of statistics and encourage the integration of GIS in the INS.
promote collaboration between NSIs and NMAs
ensure standardisation and harmonisation in the geographical information exchange process between Member States and Eurostat
promote the participation of European statisticians in GI and GIS activities

6. GISCO : International
promote co-operation between NMAs at European level and harmonise their approaches on technical matters and their commercial policies, including pricing and copyright
pursue the harmonisation of EU and broader international activities in GI
participate in GIS-related projects with other statistical international organisations

7. GISCO : project structure
Database
Management
Dissemination
Spatial
Analysis
GISCO
reference
database
Map
production
Desktop
mapping

8. Commission departments’ needs Topographic reference data
Administrative boundaries
Rivers, lakes
Elevation
Catchments (watersheds)
Transport networks
and many others

9. Commission departments’ needs Thematic reference data
Linked to a European policy
Regional policy - Structural funds
Agriculture - Leader zones
Transport - TransEuropean Network (TEN)
Environment - Natura 2000
Enlargement; Fishery; Competition etc.

10. GI & GIS in the Commission
Strengths and weaknesses
+ Long tradition in cartography
+ Excellent georeferenced national files
+ Initiatives to develop standards
- Lack of coherent pan-european data
- Various pricing and copyright policies
- No integrated metadata system

11. COGI Action lines Improve the availability of GI within the COM
Improve the level of awareness
Project a coherent image of the Commission’s activities
Definition of a European reference system
Definition of a European projection system
Definition of a European system of grids
Definition of a metadata standard
Definition of a data policy for the Commission
COGI=Commission Inter-Service Group on GI

12. Levels of reference data
Thematic data specific to one policy area
Common thematic data
Reference data
CORE DATA
GISCO

13. Scales E G I I GLOBAL LEVEL : 100M 1/1.000.000
EUROPEAN LEVEL : 10M 1/ I
NATIONAL LEVEL : 1M 1/10.000 I
LOCAL LEVEL

14. GISCO Reference Database Topographic Reference data

15. GISCO Reference Database Thematiic Reference data

16. GISCO Reference Database Topographic data - ADministrative boundaries
Administrative regions
1: 1M
Statistical regions NUTS classification version 1995, 1999
1: 1M, 1: 3M, 1: 10M

17. GISCO Reference Database Topographic data - ADministrative boundaries
NUTS level 5 Communes
1981
1991
1995
1997 1:
1: 1M

18. GISCO Reference Database Topographic data - ALtimetry - Digital Elevation Model
DEM for Europe
1 : 3M, 30 arc-second DEM
(1 km x 1 km)
1 : 20M, 5 arc-minutes
(9.3 km x 9.3 km)
1 m contour intervals

19. GISCO Reference Database Topographic data - HYdrography
Water Patterns
(incl. TEN inland waterways)
1: 3M
1:10M
WatershedS
Major sea drainage basins
of Europe
1:3M, 1:10M

20. GISCO Reference Database Topographic data - INfrastructure
RoaDs network
in Europe ver. 3
incl. Road segments eligible to TEN program ver. 3
1:1M

21. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - Community Support
Inter reGional, European Union ver. 2
INTERREG I, II
LEADER
Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l'Economie Rurale.

22. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - Community Support
Structural Funds
ver. 1
( )
ver ( )
ver. 3
( )
ver. 4
( ), ver ( )
based on SABE 1997

23. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - ENvironment
Land Quality
Assessment of land quality in Southern Europe by combining four sets of factors: soil, climate, slopes, land improvements.
1:3M
Soil Erosion
Assessment of the potential and actual soil erosion risk in Southern Europe combining four sets of factors: soil, climate, slopes, vegetation
1:3M

24. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - Infra Regional Statistics
PopUlation
Population and population density on a communes basis.
’Communes' are regional subdivisions that are based on the NUTS 5 nomenclature defined by SIRE, Eurostat and represent
the standard territorial units (administrative areas) used primarily for small area statistics purposes.

25. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - Infra Regional Statistics
Degree of URbanization
A classification of communes into three density classes, based on
the degree of urbanization in the EU.
1:1M
1981, 1991, update 1996

26. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - Land Resources
ClimaTe
Climate data for 5308 stations in the European Union (12 Member States).
- values of precipitation
- temperature
- relative humidity
- vapour pressure
- atmospheric pressure
- evapotranspiration
- wind speed
- cloud cover
On monthly and annual basis. Derived from , , data

27. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - Land Resources
Land Cover
One of the major tasks in the framework of the CORINE Program has been the establishment of a
computerized inventory on the land cover. Data on land cover is necessary for the Environment policy as well as for other policies such as Regional Development and Agriculture.
Mapping scale for data collection is 1:
Min.mapable unit 25ha
Resolution100m , 250m

28. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - Land Resources
Soils
Database on the soils of the European Union for 12 Member states
ver.1 < 1989
ver.2 < 1994
Major upgrade ver.3
1:1M

29. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - Nature Resources
BioGeographical regions
Definition of the biogeographical regions is based on the European vegetation map (Natural vegetation map of
Europe), published by the Council of Europe and C.E.C in 1994 for 12 Member States.
1 : 3M

30. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - Natural Resources
BiotoPes
Inventory of sites of major importance for nature conservation. EU exc.. AT, SE
Designated Areas
Inventory of sites designated under community legislation and international conventions.

31. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - Natural Resources
Natural VeGetation
Basic inventory of natural vegetation according to phytosociological associations
1988, up :3M
LandScapes
Major landscape types of Pan Europe
1 : 25M

32. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - World Data
World Administrative data
Altimetry
5 minutes grid (about 9.3 km x 9.3 km), 1 m contour intervals

33. GISCO Reference Database Thematic data - World Data
World Fishing Areas
Geographical Grid
1°, 2°, 5°, 10°
in geographical coordinates

34. Other activities in GISCO
02/17/98
Other activities in GISCO
European reference system and projections
Data policy (copyright, reference data)
Dissemination via Eurostat Data Shops
New technological developments (New data architecture)
Meta data standards
Quality issues for GI
Research projects related to GI 10

35. Thank you for your attention! Any questions ???