Military mobility plan to speed tanks and troops across Europe announced | European Union

The EU executive has pledged to ease red tape to speed up the movement of European armies and tanks across the continent, describing it as “a critical insurance policy for European security”.

The military mobilization plan announced by the European Commission on Wednesday is part of an effort to ensure Europe is ready to defend itself by 2030, in line with warnings from security services that Russia could attack an EU member state within five years.

If an army today tried to cross from a Western European port to the EU’s eastern border with Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, it would face significant obstacles and delays, EU officials say. They point to bridges that cannot support the weight of tanks, railway tunnels that are too small and rail lines too narrow to carry military vehicles, as well as EU documents regarding working hours and customs.

At least one EU member state is demanding 45 days’ notice for cross-border troop movements, as opposed to the three-day border procedure that EU countries have committed to in 2024. According to EU inspectors, another unnamed member state once Tank convoy denied entry because they violated the weight limits of local road traffic laws.

Calling the 45-day leave rule “not good enough” 11 years after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said: “If a bridge cannot carry a 60-ton tank, we have a problem. If the runway is too short for a cargo plane, we cannot resupply our crew.”

He said the EU’s latest proposals would support NATO’s defense plan rather than copy it. “Military mobility is a critical insurance policy for European security; you hope you never have to use it to its full capacity, but having it ready provides more reliable deterrence and defence,” he told reporters.

The commission wants to create a “military Schengen” area, meaning armies can move through the EU’s unrestricted travel area as easily as civilians. An emergency system for cross-border military transportation has been proposed that would give priority to military convoys in the transportation network.

In an emergency, militaries will be able to benefit from exemptions from usual EU rules, such as mandatory rest periods for drivers of heavy goods vehicles and faster customs procedures for equipment and military supplies, including food, arriving at the EU’s external border.

EU officials have identified a priority list of 500 bridges, tunnels, flyovers, roads, ports and airports that need to be strengthened or adapted to handle heavy military traffic, at a cost of around €100bn (£88bn). A ten-fold increase in military mobility spending has been allocated €17.6 billion in the proposed 2028-34 EU long-term budget, but overall the €2 trillion plan faces opposition from many member states hoping to reduce spending.

EU member states are often required to co-finance the bloc’s infrastructure projects. Most EU countries are NATO members and have pledged to spend in June. 5% of their GDP Defense-related, including 1.5% to protect critical infrastructure and ensure defense readiness.

EU officials said countries could use existing EU funds for infrastructure, as well as a new €150 billion defense loan programme, to ensure transport networks are well adapted to military needs.