Sharp differences over the EU’s approach to regulating personal mobility devices (PMDs) stood out at the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council meeting on 4 December 2025. The Netherlands championed a harmonised, rigid type-approval system to eliminate 27 diverging national rules to boost safety and ease market fragmentation. Hungary, however, pushed back against a rigid system, favouring instead a flexible, adaptable framework that would avoid overly bureaucratic approval procedures. Both countries—along with Romania, Belgium, Estonia, Luxembourg, Latvia, and Slovakia—agreed on the urgency of harmonisation but diverged on how prescriptive it should be. Meanwhile, the European Commission injected caution, advocating for a broader "safe-system" approach to road safety beyond just regulating products, and urged more national data before proposing legislation.
The debate took place during the EU Council’s Transport, Telecommunications and Energy meeting on 4 December 2025, which also featured updates on the upcoming Transport Research Arena 2026 event and a multi-country initiative on harmonising EU drone regulations against hybrid threats.
The Netherlands detailed a concrete policy proposal advocating a type-approval mechanism akin to vehicle certifications, promising to standardize safety and market access to personal mobility devices. Contrasted with this, Hungary, Romania, and Latvia leaned on principle-driven appeals for adaptable rules and warned about the administrative burdens and testing cost disparities across Member States. Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia, and Slovakia stressed safety and the advantages of a unified single market but provided fewer details on enforceable deadlines or budgetary implications.
Commission representatives underscored the limitations of product regulation alone and highlighted the need for complementary enforcement at national levels and traffic rule harmonisation. On drones, Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas announced an EU drone strategy review slated for early 2026, signaling new identification systems and counter-drone measures linked to EU security and military mobility priorities—proposals backed by Belgium, Romania, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Czechia, who emphasized cooperation, security, and technological updates.
Stakeholders affected by potential PMD regulation changes include the European Commission and other EU regulatory bodies tasked with enforcement, national authorities balancing safety with feasibility, PMD manufacturers and distributors facing compliance costs and market entry concerns, and EU consumers who seek both safety and device availability.
The Dutch strict-type approval would enhance consumer safety and market predictability but may raise compliance and operational costs for manufacturers and national testing bodies, possibly slowing innovation. Hungary’s flexible framework could reduce administrative burdens and encourage innovation but might fragment safety standards and confuse consumers.
On drones, enhanced EU-wide harmonisation and security protocols are intended to improve airspace safety and EU technological competitiveness but may impose tighter regulatory costs on drone operators and national security agencies.
The Council concluded by taking note of all three information items and anticipated follow-ups include a drone summit in November 2026 and further data collection to support PMD legislative proposals. The divergent views uncovered in December highlight the delicate balance between safety, innovation, market unity, and regulatory pragmatism facing the EU as it crafts forward-looking transport policies.