Aviation technologies in Europe and the rest of the world have continued to evolve. As usual, they offer increased opportunities to deliver services to citizens and contribute to the economy, for example, job creation and growth.

However, the growing use of new technologies that could have a wide ranging impact on the public and commerce deserves public debate and often requires appropriate intervention of the regulator in order to protect essential public interest. This appears to be the case for remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), also commonly known as drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

In Europe, RPAS are already being used in controlled and specialised applications such as aerial photography, as well as safety inspections of infrastructure (e.g. rail tracks, dams, bridges or power grids). The national authorities are also using them in disaster relief situations (e.g. flood relief efforts or firefighting).

In other parts of the world RPAS activities are currently supporting precision farming through more effective and timely application of fertilizers or pesticides.

The extensive range of potential applications of these aircraft systems also raises a broad range of pertinent issues about their impact on the safety and security of airspace users and people on the ground, as well as on citizens' privacy and the use of private data. Therefore, the European Commission (EC) has started an initiative to regulate appropriately the development and use of RPAS within the context of the single aviation market, which is by its very nature has an international scope.

The EC's initiative could involve the introduction of European rules to guarantee high levels of aviation safety and security, citizens' privacy and personal data protection. The challenge will be to achieve the optimum balance between the following two key objectives to:

• Create space and freedom necessary for development of this new industry, often from small start-up companies;
• Ensure that this development doesn't compromise the essential rights and interests of the EU citizens in terms of safety, security or privacy.

In order to solicit a broad spectrum of opinion through an online consultation on RPAS, the EC is inviting input from citizens, companies, public authorities, academia, associations and other stakeholders who have an interest in EU aviation safety, development of new technologies and improving the efficiency of the aviation sector.

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