Members of the COTER Commission have today adopted by unanimity ECR's First VP Władysław Ortyl's opinion on the EU Drone Strategy 2.0. The opinion is a detailed consideration of responsibilities and the role of local and regional authorities in building and nurturing public confidence in the growing number of drones present in the sky.

President of the Podkarpackie Region emphasised the importance of drones in several areas that could benefit regional governance across the EU. "The unmanned systems are becoming helpful in reducing traffic congestion and exhaust emissions in road transport as well as in agriculture, forestry and horticulture, where replacing combustion-engine vehicles with drones for precision farming and reduced pesticide consumption offers a lot of environmentally-friendly solutions" – stated Marshal Ortyl.

This opinion expands on the European Commission's overall recommendations for LRAs which, according to the CoR's spokesperson on drones, have a significant role to play in facilitating growth of this sector, which should be one of the pillars of European competitive advantage.

"We should invest in training courses for future drone operators and implement specific drone-based projects that clearly benefit our citizens, like assisting emergency services. This would inevitably result with an increased public confidence in drones and help this modern industry flourish" – concluded the Marshal. 

The opinion will be presented to all members of the CoR for final approval during the October plenary session.