Fundamentally, the difference is that all other countries in Europe have State (taxpayer) funded ATC. Area services are provided by ATCOs who, if appropriate, have a radar qualification. I don’t know about Germany but in France, AFAIK, they allow a radar screen in towers which can be “viewed” by a non radar qualified ATCO, or even a FISO. In the UK, it may be possible for a FISO to officially...