Current legal situation to depart / approach IFR across Europe

I think all that is overcomplicating things.
For me there are 2 factors. Number 1 do I feel that I can make this flight safely.

1. Would be is it legal. Putting aside the differences between NCO and Commercial Ops SERA and AIP is pretty clear except on one or 2 hrey areas which might not be adequately covered in SERA or the AIP and so leave grey areas.
   1/ Can you take off from an uncontrolled, untowered aircraft. In most European countries the answer is yes. The grey area which can differ by country would be whether this can be done in IMC or does it have to be VMC.
   2/ If you are intending to fly into IMC do you need to fly under instrument flight rules.
   The answer to that is clear for most European countries is yes.
   3/ Under IFR do you need to file a flight plan. In France the answer is yes unless you are staying within the aerdrome traffic area.Other countries differ.
   4/ When filing a flight plan from an uncontrolled, unmanned, untowered aircraft do you file I FPL or Z FPL. For me this is the area where SERA and AIPs tend to go missing.
   In many/most European countries you can fly IFR in IMC in class G without a clearance but in some countries that is difficult due to airspace structure. Other countries demand 2way continuous A/G communication/surveillance.
   It is not always clear whether two way contact has to be made before entering IMC or whether one must remain VMC until 2 way communication has been established. There are some countries UK for example and possibly Sweden does not need radio contact at all in class G so there is no grey area here.
   It might be possible to open a flight plan on the ground and on the telephone, eg get a squawk on the ground. IMO in the absence of instructions to the contrary you can (legally) take off at IMC minima with an I-FPL.
   If however you have to take off with VFR minima are.we talking 1.5km.visibility or 5km visibility, SERA is not clear here, and I can not find reference to this in the French AIP so another grey area.
   SERA /AIP could solve many of these problems very easily. As I wrote previously SERA makes mention of an Air Traffic Advisory Service. The service described could easily clear up most of these grey areas, especially if they were contactable from the ground by telephone.
   There are several mentions of this service within SERA but there is no precise definition there or in AIP of which ATS provides this service and how.
   In France it would be great if the SIV/FIS were responsible for it. IMO it does provide the service so why isn’t it published in the AIP?
   Similar grey areas appear on a Y-FPL. IMO this is a VFR arrival and need VMC minima appropriate to the AIP and in particular to the VAC. Flight plan can be closed on the ground by phone.

More simpler, at the end of the day there is an altitude from which you have to switch IFR/VFR or VFR/IFR? 1ft agl or FL195 level?

- I don’t buy uncontrolled IFR all the way from apron argument (some pilots says laws allow it but I have not witnessed this, even I was hanging with one of these pilots who thinks it’s legal on a day with 600m RVR and he was waiting for it to improve as we were departing an ILS runway, personal legal assessments and risk assessments tend to vary )

- I don’t buy uncontrolled IFR stops when radar, radio, flight plan stops (some pilots says these are mandatory for IFR, then VMC just magically obeys at Z/Y transitions )

- I can easily buy 1000ft & 500ft heights

I doubt EASA/NAA will ever set a height & limits for NCO pilots, they are easily trusted to make their own cuts
This also the case for weather briefings and runway lengths, it’s own judgement !

Status quo also means for now EASA and NAA don’t have to deal with the consequences of having extra traffic into many VFR airfields, however, with BIR introduction and IAP without ATS, one should expect to see more TAS/TCAS requirements, ATS presence and more pilot training to fly IFR to VFR airfields, which sounds very reasonable…

gallois wrote:

and I can not find reference to this in the French AIP so another grey area.

They removed 1.5km vis & 500ft ceiling from French law & AIP for uncontrolled takeoffs , it’s left grey area on purpose…
It has changed from “1.5km vis & 500ft ceiling en VMC” and now “evolution VMC a vue”