Brussels, 04/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission does not intend to introduce any legislative projects on the question of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) in the immediate future. Nonetheless, it does consider that offering guidance to member states is the most appropriate approach. A conference on the question will take place in Riga this March, which will help clarify the matter.
Last April, the European Commission announced in a communication, that it was seeking to introduce a legislative framework for RPAS (see EUROPE 11056). A public consultation was concluded last November in this connection (see EUROPE 11136) but one source close to the dossier said that there was no legislative proposal on the cards in the near future. The European Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, is expected to examine the subject during the high-level conference on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems organised by the Latvian presidency in Riga on 5-6 March next. The discussions are expected to focus on incorporating these RPAS into non-segregated airspace and allow a public debate on issues that are a subject of societal concern, such as security, safety, data protection and private life.
The source indicated above also explained that if a legislative proposal were to be improved, it would be done during this meeting. Although half of all member states already have new rules applicable to RPAS, the Commission is more likely to examine the idea of producing a strategic document providing guidance on this question. The more technology is regulated, the less it is accessible to the public at large. Moreover, the Commission is anxious not to throw the baby out with the bath water with regard to the commercial opportunities that RPAS could generate. This is also the message that European transport ministers sent the Commission last October, during a debate on RPAS at the Transport Council (see EUROPE 11172). (MD)