The European Commission, via Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, has signalled its intention to allow drones to apply phytosanitary treatments, challenging the long-standing EU ban on aerial spraying under Directive 2009/128/EC. The move, outlined in an official answer to a parliamentary question from Susanna Ceccardi (PfE), targets farmers navigating difficult terrains, technology developers, environmental watchdogs, and regulators. The Commission has proposed amendments in its Food and Feed Safety Simplification Package, adopted December 15, 2025, enabling Member States to grant derogations for aerial spraying by certain drones. A forthcoming delegated act will list drone models deemed to pose equal or lower risks compared to conventional methods, complementing existing rules on pilot competence and operational limitations. This policy orientation favours carefully calibrated innovation, increasing EU regulatory flexibility while preserving environmental protection objectives with updated technical oversight. Stakeholders face mixed impacts: farmers and drone manufacturers gain operational improvements and new business prospects; environmental groups will assess risk management; regulatory bodies must develop frameworks and oversee compliance; taxpayers may see indirect benefits from improved agricultural sustainability but bear some regulatory costs. The Commission’s reply sets a clear path for forthcoming delegated acts and regulatory amendments, signalling that Member States should prepare to implement flexible but monitored drone-spraying regimes in the near future.
This development follows a series of EU initiatives to modernise agricultural oversight and transparency. On April 14, 2026, Commissioner Hansen championed EU tools to boost agricultural transparency amid Greek scandal concerns, outlining concrete measures such as the Area Monitoring System (AMS), mandatory since 2024, and the Arachne IT tool for fraud risk scoring. Hansen’s response to a parliamentary question from Emmanouil Fragkos (ECR) emphasised strengthening digital surveillance and risk-targeted controls within the current CAP regulatory framework, alongside tighter cooperation with anti-fraud entities like OLAF and EPPO. That answer noted ongoing audits and action plans targeting Greek Paying Agency deficiencies, including an anti-fraud strategy under probation since 2024. Earlier, on March 31, 2026, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) enhanced its pest surveillance database, publishing a technical report on upgrades to the Pest Survey Card database and its web application. The report detailed improvements including a revised database structure supporting bulk validation, a new data management tab, and integration with other pest surveillance applications (RiPest and OptiPest), continuing EFSA’s digital transformation in plant health monitoring. These parallel efforts—from drone spraying derogations to enhanced fraud detection and pest surveillance—reflect the Commission’s broader push to modernise EU agriculture through technology, risk-based oversight, and regulatory flexibility, while maintaining environmental and health safeguards. The practical consequences of the drone proposal promise to unfold over upcoming months as the delegated act and related rules take shape, with Member States expected to prepare for implementation.
← Atlas › News › Agri-food