European Commission - Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport
European Commission - Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport
11/11/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/11/2026 10:45
EU Drone Summit charts the course for a competitive, innovative and secure European drone market
Europe's drone community convened in Brussels on 9-10 November for the EU Drone Summit, a two-day conference on the future of drone operations in the European Union. More than 400 participants from the drone sector, Member States and EU institutions came together to discuss how to build a user-driven, competitive European drone market that delivers real benefits for citizens and businesses.
The summit took stock of progress made under the EU Drone Strategy 2.0, adopted four years ago. The Strategy's vision of a competitive, innovative and secure European drone market remains valid, but delivering on it will require stronger, coordinated action. To this end, the Commission will adopt an Implementation Roadmap in 2027, to further scale up drone operations.
In his keynote address, Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, highlighted that "we need to create the conditions for European innovation to become a European commercial success. This means strengthening industrial resilience, reducing critical dependencies and making better use of cooperation between civil and defence industries. The upcoming roadmap will address the obstacles that prevent European drone operations from reaching scale and we will work closely together with Member States, authorities, industry and cities to turn Europe's potential to lead on drones into reality."
High-level sessions addressed the strategic direction of the sector, including drone security, completing the internal market for Innovative Air Mobility, the future of beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations, and turning European innovation into production, investment and market uptake at scale.
Alongside safety, security and resilience of drone operations are essential to earning public trust.
In her opening speech, Director-General for Mobility and Transport, Magda Kopczyńska, stressed that "the safety and security of drone operations goes hand in hand with innovation - we want European businesses to be able to invest and grow, and new drone technologies to contribute to more efficient and sustainable mobility and services. These are not separate ambitions to be pursued in isolation, but rather reinforcing each other."
The summit also marked the publication of the first findings of the European Trusted Drone Label (ETDL) pilot project. Through third-party verification, the ETDL would let manufacturers bring more trustworthy drones to the EU market. The study proposes criteria to ensure drones resist malicious interference, are cybersecure, give operators control over their data and keep them in command at all times, while supply chain transparency would help buyers make informed choices. The implementation phase of the ETDL will continue to receive financial support from the European Parliament.
Looking ahead, the Commission is set to adopt an Implementation Roadmap for Drone Strategy 2.0 in 2027. Building on the findings of the progress review and the discussions at the summit, the Roadmap will build on stakeholder involvement, including from Member States, with a focus on making the Single Market work better for drone operators, facilitating their integration into European airspace, and strengthening the competitiveness and industrial resilience of Europe's drone sector.
Background
The EU Drone Summit was co-hosted with the Ministry of Transport of Belgium and the SESAR Joint Undertaking. The first day, 9 November, focused on research, technological solutions and deployment, with sessions hosted by the SESAR Joint Undertaking and EUROCONTROL. The second day addressed strategic and policy priorities, including the outcome of the progress review of Drone Strategy 2.0 carried out by the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE).
An industry exhibition showcased state-of-art technology from a range of companies, alongside eight SESAR Joint Undertaking Projects.
For more information
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