European Commission: consultations on the simplification package – drones in plant protection

The European Commission has launched a consultation on the Omnibus simplification package for Food and Feed Safety. The initiative is entitled “Food and Feed Safety – Omnibus Simplification Package”. Comments are open until October 14th.

The package aims to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens while maintaining high standards for food and feed safety, human and animal health, and environmental protection. This is a response to repeated calls from stakeholders and EU countries for faster and clearer procedures for plant protection products, drones, biocidal products, feed additives, hygiene regulations, and official controls.

Poland has proposed amending Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides to facilitate the use of drones in plant protection.

According to information provided to the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Poland will consistently support simplification in this area, while maintaining the safe use of plant protection products. The scope of simplifications submitted for consultation will apply, among other things, to drones. Therefore, for the entire UAV industry using unmanned aerial vehicles in this sector, active participation in the consultations is crucial.

The deadline for submitting comments is October 14th, 2025, and all information on this topic is available on the “Food and feed safety – simplification omnibus”.

As the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems, we are pleased that the European Commission has taken steps to adopt the package and thus reduce regulatory burdens, particularly in the context of the use of agricultural drones for plant protection. One of the Chamber’s main projects is the “Smart Farming” project, within which the issue of the difficulties of using drones as a replacement for other agricultural machinery was raised repeatedly in consultations. We are also pleased with the position of our Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which supports further efforts to simplify food and feed safety regulations and reduce administrative burdens.

We encourage everyone interested in the use of drones in agriculture to take part in the consultation – details are available on this website of the European Commission.