[coordinate systems]
Acronym for European Terrestrial Reference System 1989. The reference coordinate system for Europe. When its datum was first defined in 1989, it was coincident with the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS84) datum. Because the Eurasian continental tectonic plate is largely static, ETRS89 continues to be Europe's primary reference system. In areas of the world in which the tectonic plates are moving, there can be a difference of more than half a meter between WGS84 and ETRS89.