If European regulators have their way, drone operations in the European Union (EU) are going to become very permissive, far outpacing American regulations. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the EU’s authority for aviation safety, has released a regulatory framework that calls for new regulations to be proposed by December of this year.
In their proposed framework, the EASA has specifically focused on innovation, saying that regulations must “not simply [transpose] the system put in place for manned aviation” but rather must create “one that is proportionate, progressive, risk based and…[expresses] objectives that will be complemented by industry standards.”
Officially sanctioned European drone operations far outpace American drone operations. In the EU there are 2,495 operators of drones weighing less than 150kg (330 pounds), the EASA believes that number to be the largest amongst worldwide operations where just 2,342 operators are flying in the rest of the world combined (with 2,000 of those sanctioned operations taking place in Japan).
More details here.
