The European Commission has announced the adoption of its European Drone Strategy 2.0, which sets out a policy vision for the advancement of the European drone market.
The strategy is intended to build on the EU’s safety framework for operating and setting the technical requirements of drones and how Europe can pursue large-scale commercial drone operations while offering new opportunities in the sector.
Some current use cases for drones across Europe include surveying infrastructure, monitoring oil spills and sampling soil.
What’s more, projects using drones for medical air deliveries, transporting medical samples between healthcare services have been making good progress in recent years, the regulatory body claims.
One of the key focuses of the strategy includes the creation of a ‘U-space’ in January 2023, which it hopes would be a system unique to Europe for the management of drone traffic and safety. The commission also hopes this could establish the bedrock for further market expansion.
“With the arrival of a new generation of electrically powered aircraft capable of operating in an urban and regional environment, we need to ensure that, beyond maintaining the safety of operations in our skies, conditions meet both the operators’ commercial needs and citizens’ expectations with regard to privacy and security,” said Adina Vălean, commissioner for transport at the European Commission.
“Today’s strategy not only widens Europe’s capacity to pursue large-scale commercial drone operations but also offers new opportunities, in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises.
“With the right framework in place, the drone services market in Europe could be worth €14.5bn, and create 145,000 jobs, by 2030.”
Another major aspect of the strategy is ensuring the expansion of the drone market is aligned with the needs of Europe citizens, with the commission encouraging local government, municipalities and other authorities to address concerns over noise, safety and privacy with the public.
The body outlines several areas where it hopes to see drones operation within by 2030, including emergency services, innovative mobility services, as part of the wider European technology market, space services and mobile communications, to name a few.
The strategy likewise identifies areas for synergies between civil and defence drones, and for increased counter-drone capabilities and system resilience.
The commission has said it now plans to start work on the strategy’s 19 operational, technical and financial flagship actions, which are intended to establish the right regulatory and commercial environment for wider drone usage.
Some of these actions include defining common rules for airworthiness, investing in the development of a digital platform to support local stakeholders and key industry people for implementing drones sustainably, developing a strategic drone roadmap to identify important policy areas for research and development and defining the criteria for a voluntary cybersecurity-approved drone label.
The commission says it has been building the foundations of a comprehensive EU policy on drones since 2014.
