I am not suggesting that I am an authority on the legislation - I find some of it fairly challenging to interpret. However I was awarded a PPL in Nov 2012 primarily using my UAS hours. This was under the new EASA guidelines.
I did a civilian conversion to PPL (by way of a GAPAN Scholarship) which took about ~10 hours. The majority of the PPL content was raced over due to 100+ UAS hours.
The UAS flying did not cover certain aspects however.
The following are issues in direct conversion.
1. Qualifying cross country.
-You can potentially negotiate this with your UAS - As I had achieved my PFB & completed all the advanced syllabus there was a provisional 'yes' given to me in regards to completing the X-country.
- the issue is that QFIs aren't particularly keen on full stop solo landings
- there is also the issue of approaching civilian bases, dealing with controlled airspace, learning overhead joins etc - all entirely possible to overcome but must be thought about.
2. Medical
- You are still required to get a Class 2 medical regardless of whether you have been declared fit by OASC etc.
3. Aircraft
- You will need a couple of hours on type - I did my test in a C-152... It was VERY different to the shiny EA tutor. No GPS for a start...
4. Test
- Obviously you will still need to pay and carry out a normal test
5. Payment
- as normal to the tune of £180 to the CAA
6. UAS logbook
- The UAS need to stamp your log book - There are references to completion of training certificates. I did not bother with this, and just sent off my signed log book (a civilian one not my military one.)
So in conclusion,
It is currently possible to convert your hours. However, it wouldn't surprise me if this ceased to be the case as people (read CAA/EASA) grapple with the new legislation.
The UAS however can only provide ~80% of a PPL, as you still need to convert onto type, do the cross country and the test. I was lucky enough to be able to do this for free but price it out as you will - there is still a significant investment to be made, but enormously discounted thanks to the UAS.
Please let me know if I can clarify anything.