The new regulation is supposed to maintain
Europe's safety record while eliminating red-tape and preparing for future
challenges. Most notably, it establishes the first ever EU-wide framework for
drones and for their safe and secure use. This development constitutes a major
deliverable under the Commission's
Aviation Strategy for Europe whose core objective is to support the
competitiveness of the EU's aviation industry and reinforce its global
leadership.
The agreement now needs to be formally adopted by the plenary of the European Parliament and the 28 EU Ministers. This will be done in early 2018. Once this is completed, the European Commission will – on the basis of an opinion from the European Aviation Safety Agency – put forward detailed rules and technical standards.
In the meantime, the work of the European Commission and of the Single European Sky Air traffic management Research Joint Undertaking (SESAR) continues for the creation of an automated traffic management system for drones operating at low-level (“U-space”).
Aviation is one of the EU’s key high-tech sectors on the global market. It provides more than 360,000 jobs and generated a turnover of close to €150 billion in 2015.
As part of the Aviation Strategy, the Commission proposed in December 2015 to update the EU's safety rules in order to maintain high safety standards alongside growing air traffic. This included the creation of a legal framework for drones in order to ensure safety and legal certainty for industry. Under existing rules, the EU is only competent for drones weighing above 150 kilograms which led to a fragmentation of the internal market with several Member States adopting conflicting rules.
After nearly two years of discussions, the European Parliament and the Council reached a preliminary agreement on the Commission's proposal on 29 November 2017. The deal was subject to the approval of the EU Member States, which was given on the 22 December 2017.