The European Commission presented the EASIN network (the European Alien Species Information Network) which aim to facilitate the mapping and classification of alien species by indexing reported data from over 40 online databases. It has been calculated the existence of around to 16,000 alien species currently reported all over Europe.

The European Commission's in-house science service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) presented EASIN, the European Alien Species Information Network. This network is a first step towards answering questions related to 16,000 alien species currently reported all over Europe. According to the Commission, those species present a serious threat to biodiversity and natural resources, with an economic impact estimated at around €12 billion per year. In February 2012, the Commission consulted on the alien species.

EASIN has as concrete objective to facilitate the mapping and classification of alien species by indexing reported data from over 40 online databases. Through dynamically updated web features, users can view and map the distribution of alien species in Europe and select them using criteria ranging from the environment in which they are found (terrestrial, marine or fresh water) and their biological classification through to the pathways of their introduction.

Alien species are non-native organisms that become established in a new environment. Most of them do not present significant risks for their new environment. However, some of them adapt so successfully to the new environment that they become invasive – from being biological curiosities they become genuine threats to local ecosystems, crops and livestock, threatening our environmental and social wellbeing. Invasive alien species are the second leading cause of biodiversity loss, after habitat alteration.