European Parliament Clears Way For Drone Ops Rules In 2017

European Union (EU) officials plan early next year to finalize regulations covering oversight of the operation of unmanned aircraft systems in civil airspace. The anticipated votes by the EU's Council of Transport Ministers and the EU Commission will follow recommendations issued on November 10 by the transport committee of the European Parliament. The committee issued amendments to the framing regulation of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to coordinate oversight of drones among member states and also require that they be registered. The European Cockpit Association (ECA) applauded the proposed changes.

The amendments to the EASA Basic Regulation the committee approved on November 10 in Brussels represent the European Parliament’s position on updating the regulation, which it will negotiate with the Council of the EU early next year. The Council is comprised of ministers of the European Union member states.

“EU aviation safety standards are already high,” said Marian-Jean Marinescu, a member of the European Parliament from Romania who serves on the transport committee. “Even so, the growing use of drones and threats from terrorism and cyberattacks require new rules to ensure aviation safety and security. At the same time, these rules should be performance- and risk-based; ultra-light or business aviation should not have to meet the same requirements.”

The updated regulation would introduce EU-wide requirements for drones, establishing design and operation requirements to ensure privacy and safety, the committee said. Currently, individual nations have responsibility for drones weighing less than 150 kg (330 pounds). Unmanned aircraft with a takeoff mass higher than 250 grams (8 ounces) would have to be registered—the same level the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration set for its national drone registry last December.

The European Commission would be responsible for drafting safety rules for the design and operation of drones, including situations in which additional systems are required to limit their altitude or access to sensitive sites. It would also establish procedures for registering and marking unmanned aircraft.

The commission estimates that civil drone technology could account for 10 percent of the EU aviation market within the next 10 years, or about €15 billion per year.

The ECA, which represents national pilot associations in 37 European states, said the transport committee recommendations respond to a “Joint call to safely integrate drones/UAS in Europe’s airspace,” that 16 aviation organizations signed in September. Changes proposed earlier by the European Commission were “an empty shell,” the pilots’ organization contends.

“With this vote, EU Parliamentarians demonstrate that they are serious about making EASA fit for the next decade” said ECA president Dirk Polloczek. “This is crucial, as our skies will become busier in future as ‘new entrants’ like drones are joining the airspace. We are therefore particularly satisfied with the tightened safety rules for drone operations, including the requirement of a drone pilot license for commercial operations.”

In a separate announcement on November 8, European governmental organizations said they are “stepping up efforts” to introduce drones into European airspace, and had agreed to coordinate research and development and regulation of all categories of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS). Making the announcement were the European Commission Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, the European Defence Agency, EASA and the Single European Sky ATM Research Joint Undertaking.

Overall air traffic management (ATM) requirements for introducing drones will be incorporated in the next update of the European ATM Master Plan, scheduled for release next year.