EU plans drone fleet to track migrants
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EU plans drone fleet to track migrants
EU plans drone fleet to track migrants ? POLITICO
Drones controlled by the EU will soon be flying across the continent under a European Commission plan to keep track of migrants arriving on Mediterranean shores. The Commission says it needs its own fleet of remotely piloted aircraft systems to spot small refugee boats, as well as to enforce emissions standards and monitor ship safety elsewhere in Europe.
Advanced discussions in the Council of Ministers have centered on a request for an annual budget of €22 million to help set up the EU fleet. The plan is to fit drones with video, infrared sensors and chemical “sniffers” for detecting ships that pollute, according to a Commission official.
Europe’s existing satellite and transponder-based technology is useless for tracking the flood of refugees crossing the Mediterranean, said Christine Berg, head of unit in the Commission’s directorate-general for mobility and transport. Satellite images can take minutes or hours to update, making the technology too slow. Commercial vessels are fitted with transponders, but the smaller, makeshift craft favored by migrants and asylum-seekers and the people-smugglers who often transport them are not.
Europe’s drone-mounted cameras will monitor migrant movement during daylight hours, while infrared sensors will help track them at night, Berg told an industry gathering in Brussels. Pilots will be located in Lisbon, at the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), according to the Commission plan.............
With the EU institutions ostensibly practicing austerity and cutting administrative budgets, drones are one of the few growth areas in Brussels. The proposal has therefore created excitement among Commission officials, who see the fleet as a path to promotion. The planned upgrade of EMSA is taking place in parallel to an upgrade of both the European Fisheries Control Agency and Frontex – all triggered by the migration crisis...............
Drones controlled by the EU will soon be flying across the continent under a European Commission plan to keep track of migrants arriving on Mediterranean shores. The Commission says it needs its own fleet of remotely piloted aircraft systems to spot small refugee boats, as well as to enforce emissions standards and monitor ship safety elsewhere in Europe.
Advanced discussions in the Council of Ministers have centered on a request for an annual budget of €22 million to help set up the EU fleet. The plan is to fit drones with video, infrared sensors and chemical “sniffers” for detecting ships that pollute, according to a Commission official.
Europe’s existing satellite and transponder-based technology is useless for tracking the flood of refugees crossing the Mediterranean, said Christine Berg, head of unit in the Commission’s directorate-general for mobility and transport. Satellite images can take minutes or hours to update, making the technology too slow. Commercial vessels are fitted with transponders, but the smaller, makeshift craft favored by migrants and asylum-seekers and the people-smugglers who often transport them are not.
Europe’s drone-mounted cameras will monitor migrant movement during daylight hours, while infrared sensors will help track them at night, Berg told an industry gathering in Brussels. Pilots will be located in Lisbon, at the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), according to the Commission plan.............
With the EU institutions ostensibly practicing austerity and cutting administrative budgets, drones are one of the few growth areas in Brussels. The proposal has therefore created excitement among Commission officials, who see the fleet as a path to promotion. The planned upgrade of EMSA is taking place in parallel to an upgrade of both the European Fisheries Control Agency and Frontex – all triggered by the migration crisis...............
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Interesting when you consider the first of NATO's GlobalHawks has been delivered, yet the Luftwaffe have been forbidden from operating their own EuroHawks over their own country. I've discussed this at work as it's a very thorny issue at the moment (Demonstrations against our hosts by the locals). They will most likely be operated from a Mediterranean nation, but where they will be controlled from is another question.........
Autobahnstormer
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€22M...that should cover fourteen meetings attended by 28 EU member states....oops, 27.... to discuss how the committee should be formed to investigate the operational efficiency of the meetings needed to investigate the operational efficiency of the drones....yes, that was a deliberate repetition....plus all the associated travel and subsistence expenses; then there are the salaries of those tasked with looking into the drones, not to mention their expenses; and don't forget the legal team required to write the endless pages of pointless legislation (full of loopholes, which they will need to rectify later once more funding for the gravy train...err, I mean 'project' is found). Then there is the publication of the directives and implementation into national legislation, which will probably need more meetings, expenses, etc. Then there will be the endless arguing over who has jurisdiction over drones being operated in one country whilst being operated from another.
Money left from €22M once the eurocrats have lined their pockets once more = enough to buy a propeller for one drone.
Bargain!!
Sorry for being such a cynic!
Money left from €22M once the eurocrats have lined their pockets once more = enough to buy a propeller for one drone.
Bargain!!
Sorry for being such a cynic!
