Drone Regulations
38. Must clearance from the competition authorities be obtained before state aid may be granted?
Bahamas
There are no applicable general state aid rules.
Bolivia
There are no applicable general state aid rules.
Brazil
Not applicable.
Canada
N/A.
Colombia
Is not possible for us answer this question with certainty because state policies regarding UAS are not publicly available.
Costa Rica
No.
El Salvador
There is not an express regulation on this matter.
Germany
Yes. The principle of prior notification derives immediately from article 108 TFEU, see above at question number 36.
Guatemala
There is not an express regulation on this matter.
India
Please refer to our response to question 36 above.
Israel
Clearance from the Israel Competition Authority is not a prerequisite for granting state aid.
Italy
N/A
Kenya
There are no regulations on state aid in Kenya.
Mexico
N/A.
Nicaragua
There is not an express regulation on this matter.
Norway
Pre-clearance from the Ministry of Trade is required, cf. question 36 above
Pakistan
N/A.
Panama
There are no applicable general state aid rules that would apply.
Philippines
Not applicable since the PCAR does not provide for any general or sector-specific state aid rules.
Portugal
General state aid rules are applicable.
Puerto Rico
There is no state legislation covering this in Puerto Rico.
Romania
The general rule would require for any state aid to be notified to the Competition Council.
South Africa
N/A.
Spain
It is not required to have clearance from competition authorities at this stage for the UAS Spanish industry.
Switzerland
As a general rule, no, such clearance must not be obtained.
Miscellaneous and Most Recent Changes
The Swiss drone sector is growing rapidly, and Switzerland is considered a leader in the research and development of drones. The term ‘drone-valley’ is increasingly used between the top-ranked Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne, which is home to about 80 drone start-ups in recent years. Moreover, more than two dozen larger companies developing drones foster Switzerland’s position as one of the industry leaders in the development of drones.
The Drone Industry Association Switzerland represents, supports, defends and promotes Swiss drone companies as well as embracing the use and acceptance of drones. The drone sector will attract further investors and other stakeholders in the field, which will certainly lead to a continuance of its growth.
The Swiss U-Space is currently being developed by Skyguide and is promoted to ensure that all categories as well as all types of missions of drones can operate in Swiss airspace by enabling a safe, efficient, sustainable and secure integration of drones into airspace. This shall be achieved by a set of U-space services and specific procedures such as registration of both operator and drone, airspace authorization, geofencing, live drone telemetry and real-time alerts to the operators.
Skyguide in partnership with industry players and with the support of the FOCA recently presented Europe’s first live demonstration of U-space capabilities.
The regulation on UAS in Switzerland will change as of June 2020 as the New EU Drone Regulations will apply (see Question 2 above). Nevertheless, Switzerland may add own rules in addition to the New EU Drone Regulations, if justified on safety, security, privacy or environmental grounds. The rules are proportionate to the risk of the relevant operations of UAS classified in three categories: open, specific and certified.
The open category is for low-risk UAS operations that do not require any prior authorization but are subject to specific operational restrictions. In general, operators of a UAS (other than drones lighter than 250g without a camera) must meet the minimum age of 16 years (unless reduced by the FOCA), register themselves and take an online test. Further, such UAS may only be operated at a maximum altitude of 120m above ground, outside restricted flight zones and only VLOS. The UAS itself must meet certain basic industrial standards and receive a CE marking. The open category is further divided into three subcategories (flying over, close or far away from people) with different requirements to the capabilities of the controller and the respective UAS used, depending on the operation. Within the open category UAS are classified in four classes depending on their weight (<250g, <900g, <4kg and <25kg) being subject to different technical requirements (such product classes will be evident on the CE marking).
The specific category is for UAS operations that involve an increased risk and, thus, require prior authorization from the FOCA. The assessment of operational risk shall take into account the risk mitigation measures identified. The specific category applies whenever the conditions of the open category cannot be met. Various UAS operations will be subject to standard scenarios which require the prior submission of a declaration by the UAS operator to the FOCA containing an operational risk assessment describing the operation in detail, proposing adequate operational safety objectives, identifying operational risks as well as risk mitigating measures. If no standard procedure is applicable, during the authorization process the FOCA will conduct a SORA.
The certified category is for high risk operations, in particular the operation of UAS over assemblies of people, involving the transport of people, involving the transport of dangerous goods. Also, the operation of large UAS, i.e. with a characteristic dimension of >3m, are subject to the certified category. UAS in this category must be certified for airworthiness, pilots must be certified, and safety supervision will be performed by the FOCA.
The FOCA has just started to pave grounds in order to implement the New EU Drone Regulations in Switzerland, such as the drone registration platform, adaption of Swiss regulations (in particular adjustments to the Ordinance on Special Category Aircraft of the DETEC) as well as the therewith related communication.
Turkey
No.
United Kingdom
N/A
United States of America
Please see response to Question 35, above.