The European Union (EU) has published the Inspire Metadata Implementing Rules: Technical Guidelines, based on EN ISO 19115 and EN ISO 19119.
Metadata is "data about data", of any sort in any media. An item of metadata may describe an individual datum, or content item, or a collection of data including multiple content items and hierarchical levels, for example a database schema. In data processing, metadata is definitional data that provides information about or documentation of other data managed within an application or environment.
The Directive document notes that "the aim of this document is to define how the regulation can be implemented using EN ISO 19115 and EN ISO 19119".
For more information, please visit:
http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu/reports/ImplementingRules/metadata/MD_IR_and_ISO_20081219.pdf