The European Union’s harmonized drone regulations promised to create one of the world’s largest integrated markets for drone services. But how harmonized are those regulations in practice?

The Royal Dutch Touring Club ANWB’s Medical Drone Service together with the Drone & Vertical Mobility Academy, a project by the FIA – Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile to support mobility clubs worldwide entering vertical mobility, recently put this to the test: Operating the same beyond visual line of sight mission across three countries – the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland – all controlled from a single control center in the Netherlands. This project revealed both the progress made and the remaining hurdles in achieving true regulatory harmonization.

„Europe has all the pieces to lead the global drone economy – we just need to connect them!”
(Nicolas Brieger, Head of Drone & Vertical Mobility Academy, FIA)

Nicolas Brieger leads the Drone & Vertical Mobility Academy of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). In this role, he enables over 80 million mobility club members in 241 FIA Member Clubs worldwide to harness the potential of emerging vertical mobility technologies. He has been working in the drone sector for 15 years, co-founding Germandrones and consulting in the security and defense sector. In his presentation – „The same procedure everywhere? What it means to operate identical UAS missions in different countries“ – at the EUROPEAN DRONE FORUM, he will share insights from cross-border operations and explore how addressing the challenges faced could unlock the full potential of Europe’s drone economy.

The 2025 edition of the EUROPEAN DRONE FORUM hosted by UAV DACH – Association for Unmanned Aviation on 17-18 February will be the first to take place in Düsseldorf – embedded into the world premiere of the XPONENTIAL Europe. Together, we will identify the main obstacles for the UAS industry and discuss how these can be cleared. Entirely in line with the theme of the EUROPEAN DRONE FORUM 2025: „Shaping the future: Clearing obstacles to commercial UAS operations in Europe”