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Eurodrones, Inc.

11 February 2014

Eurodrones, Inc. tells the story of how European citizens are unknowingly subsidising through their taxes a controversial drone industry yet are systematically excluded from any debates about their use. Behind empty promises of consultation, EU officials have turned over much of drone policy development to the European defence and security corporations which seek to profit from it.

Co-published in February 2014 by Statewatch and the Transnational Institute, free PDF download available. See also our Eurodrones, Inc. page.

Eurodrones, Inc. tells the story of how European citizens are unknowingly subsidising through their taxes a controversial drone industry yet are systematically excluded from any debates about their use. Behind empty promises of consultation, EU officials have turned over much of drone policy development to the European defence and security corporations which seek to profit from it.

The current trajectory points in the direction of an increasingly militarised and repressive use of drones that will have far-reaching implications for the privacy and human rights for citizens of Europe and beyond.

Downloads

• Full report (pdf, hard copy available to buy)
• Executive summary
• Press release: English | Galician | German | Italian | Spanish

Press coverage

Austria

• EU-Drohnenprogramme werden ausgebaut (FM4 ORF.at)
• H.P Martin: Verstecktes 385 Millionen-Euro-EU-Budget für Überwachungsdrohnen (ots.at)

European Union

• EU steps up funding for drone research (euobserver)
• Where is the democratic control of EU Drone Policy? (Quaker Council for European Affairs)

Germany

• Ein Himmel voller Drohnen (der Freitag)
• EU gibt mindestens 315 Millionen Euro für Drohnenforschung aus (Heise Online)

Global

• Civil Rights Group: EU Spending over $400m on Secret Drone Project (Fars News Agency)
• EU spending over $400m on secret drone project - Civil rights group (Russia Today)
• EU investing hundreds of millions in secret spy drone - watchdog (The Voice of Russia)
• New report says the EU is quietly creating a massive drone fleet (The Daily Dot)

Greece

• Secret monitoring and control programs with unmanned aircraft (The Press)

Ireland

• EU building spy drones 'without any oversight' (Irish Independent)

Italy

• "L'Ue ha speso 350 milioni di euro per sviluppare droni segreti" (eunews.it)
• "In Ue spesi 350 mln di euro in droni segreti", l'accusa della Ong (TM News)
• Droni europei il business oscuro (pagina 99)

Mexico

• Europa: Cielo abierto para los drones (proceso)

Netherlands

• Drones verkopen in de woestijn (fd.nl)
• Europa investeert half miljard in droneprojecten (nrc.nl)
• 'Miljoenen euro's EU naar drone-industrie' (nu.nl)

Poland

• Obywatele Unii nieswiadomie finansuja drony?

Romania

• UE investeste sute de milioane de euro în drone secrete (The Epoch Times Romania)
• Uniunea Europeana cheltuie circa 300 de milioane de euro pe drone secrete - raport ONG (Adevarul)

Slovakia

• Slováci, z daní sponzorujete tajný projekt za 315 miliónov: Mali by ste sa zacat bát! (topky.sk)

Spain

• Una ONG critica la falta de transparencia en el uso civil de los 'drones' (El Pais)

UK

• EU 'secretly spent £320 million on surveillance drone development' (The Telegraph)
• Brussels Sprouts (Private Eye No. 1360)