THE European Commission (EC) has unveiled a package of measures that aims to create a military mobility area by 2027, in order to improve both the speed and coordination of moving troops and military equipment across the European Union (EU).

In order to create a “Military Schengen,” the EC will present a new Regulation on military mobility to the European Council and the European Parliament for adoption under the ordinary legislative procedure.

To remove regulatory barriers, the first EU harmonised rules on military mobility will be introduced. The EC says they will set clear procedures for cross-border military movements, with a maximum three-day processing time and streamlined customs formalities.

A new emergency framework, the European Military Mobility Enhanced Response System (Emers), will be created for fast-track procedures and priority access to infrastructure, in order to support armed forces acting in the context of the EU or NATO.

The resilience of transport infrastructure will be strengthened by upgrading key EU military mobility corridors to dual-use standards, enabling use by both military and civilian traffic. A total of €17.65bn has been allocated for military mobility in the proposed Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) budget for 2028 to 2034, with 500 hotspot projects identified to remove chokepoints along priority corridors.

Strategic infrastructure will be protected by means of a new shared “toolbox” of resilience and protection measures that go beyond the provisions of the Critical Entities Resilience (CER) Directive. Targeted investment will strengthen cybersecurity, energy security and readiness both in peacetime and at times of crisis, the EC says.

The preparedness and availability of military mobility capability will be strengthened by creating a Solidarity Pool, covering capability across all modes and accessible to all member states, as well as the possible creation of a Military Mobility Digital Information System.

Governance and coordination will be strengthened by setting up a new Military Mobility Transport Group. Together with a reinforced Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Committee, the new group will guide implementation of the package and monitor readiness, supported by a network of national cross-border military transport coordinators in each member state.

“Today’s military mobility package marks a decisive step in strengthening Europe’s ability to respond to any security crisis or threat,” says Apostolos Tzitzikostas, EU commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism.

“We are building on Europe’s biggest transport strength, the Trans-European Transport Network, which is the foundation of military mobility for fast and seamless transport of troops and military equipment.”

“Defence readiness fundamentally depends on whether you can get your tanks and troops to where you need them, when you need them,” says Kaja Kallas, EC vice-president and high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.

“We are proposing an emergency system for cross-border military transport and an initiative to pool member countries' transport to make moving troops easier across the continent. Europe is facing unprecedented security threats. The case for better military mobility couldn’t be clearer.”

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