The European Cadastres and the efforts to create a Pan-european Cadastre

Abstract

The article reflects on the evolution of the role of the cadastre in Europe and describes the different cadastral models of European countries with respect to their function, their role in taxation, their relationship with cartography and spatial data infrastructures, their services and their access to data. It analyzes the new developments of the cadastre in these countries to fulfill its increasingly important role in the administration of the territory. It describes the growing demand for harmonized and pan-European cadastral data from, not only the European Commission, which considers it to be high-value data, but also from citizens and businesses, and explains the work that the cadastral institutions of European countries and international organizations are doing to create such a European cadastre.