Brussels, 29/10/2015 (Agence Europe)- On Thursday 29 October, MEPs adopted an own initiative report to strengthen the safety of unmanned aerial vehicles (more often known as drones) and provide a better framework for the way they are used, given that the sector is currently undergoing a period of full expansion.
Jacqueline Foster (ECR, United Kingdom) was the driving force behind the report adopted by an overwhelming majority (581 votes for, 31 against, 21 abstentions) and explained “The key here is in the title - to ensure the safe use of drones. We do not want to tie the hands of regulators and be too prescriptive, but to provide a framework for how the Commission, EU countries and other stakeholders can proceed”.
MEPs therefore believe that the sector urgently requires “European and international rules”, particularly as a means to protect private life (with regard to intelligence activities) but also to make a clear distinction between professional and recreational use. Nonetheless, MEPs reiterated the need to observe the proportionality principle when this involved regulating the sector and by taking into account the size of the drones or the population density of the zones flown over. In this framework, they are highlighting the necessity of training future users and equipping zones with detection and avoidance action systems.
MEPs also support the five essential principles included in the Riga Declaration (see EUROPE 11269) and are calling for these drones to be able to use airspace in the same way as any other user, without imposing specific preliminary entry conditions on them, apart from registration as a means of improving traceability. This is a particularly innovative sector whose positive spin-off effects will be able to benefit the entire economy and MEPs are therefore proposing to enhance European research and innovation in this domain.
MEPs would like the JARUS (Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems) Group, which brings together the national civil aviation authorities from more than 40 member states and non-member states together to ensure that the regulation adopted in the EU complies with international provisions and the principle of mutual recognition.
Andrew Charlton, the executive director of the Small UAV Coalition, which represents small-scale drone manufacturers in the civilian field expressed his satisfaction to EUROPE and said that this was just one step but a very important first step. He added that the European Parliament had incorporated a proportionate approach based on assessed risks, which they wanted and which is exactly what the drone industry needed in order to prosper in Europe. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)