A plan to modernize military logistics in Europe has been unveiled
On Wednesday, November 19, the European Commission presented the Military mobility package. This 115-page document provides for the simplification of the movement of military goods and troops within the EU, as well as the removal of infrastructural and bureaucratic obstacles in the field of logistics.
"Military mobility is an essential factor in the defense strategy and capabilities that Europe needs to effectively deter adversaries and respond to any crisis," the document quotes RBC as saying.
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The plan is based on the new European Enhanced Military Mobility Response System (EMERS), which will allow member states or the European Commission to offer a temporary suspension of the usual rules for transporting goods and people during emergencies. After the launch of EMERS, the military will be given priority access to infrastructure and transportation. In fact, we are talking about creating a "military Schengen," Henna Virkkunen, Vice President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said during the presentation of the project.
As a result, the rapid and unhindered transfer of troops, equipment, and maintenance personnel across Europe by road, rail, air, and sea must be ensured. According to the document, in the first half of 2026, EU countries should develop specific proposals on the organization of appropriate transport corridors, as well as the modernization of 500 critical infrastructure facilities that can be used for military purposes.
As Le Monde notes, the EU has long ignored the importance of investing in military mobility. After the end of the cold War, European states focused on purchasing armored vehicles, frigates and fighter jets needed for foreign operations, while logistics and military infrastructure issues in the regions remained in the background. As a result, key logistics centers in the bloc countries are currently unsuitable for military needs. There are also different customs and administrative rules and restrictions in the EU countries. In this sense, the episode with the French Leclair tanks sent to Romania in 2022 to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO is significant. Their delivery took weeks due to German transport regulations that limit the maximum weight of road trains.
"Significant obstacles to effective military mobility in the EU remain. National regulations are often different, fragmented and not harmonized," the EC roadmap recognizes.
Currently, it takes about 45 days to transfer troops from key western ports to countries bordering Ukraine or Russia. General Fabrice Feola, commander of the French Operational Support and Logistics Center, said in an October interview with the weekly Defense News that this process takes dozens of days, which is too long, especially when rapid response and support from the Baltic states are needed "in the event of a show of force by Russia." The goal of the block is to reduce this period to five days.
"The faster we can move troops, the stronger our deterrence and defense will be. We need to talk about days, not weeks, for the transfer of forces to Europe. For example, some states still require 45 days' notice of the passage of troops from other countries for exercises," said the head of the European Diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, at the presentation of the roadmap.
In accordance with the plan presented on Wednesday, the EU intends to allocate an additional 17.7 billion euros from the European Unification Fund (CEF) for military mobility as part of the budget for 2028-2034, which is to be approved at a meeting of EU leaders in December.
The EU will work closely with NATO to improve military mobility. According to Le Monde, after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the Americans established air bridges between their bases and key points of the military logistics network in Europe. Every week, dozens of planes transport weapons, ammunition, tanks and armored vehicles to the UK, Poland and Germany. Some of this is then sent to Ukraine by road or rail, and some is moved to warehouses in case of necessary operational deployment of troops.
The EU intends to close the gaps in its collective defense by 2030, by which time European officials believe the bloc should be ready for a potential military clash with Russia. The same term appeared in the EU White Paper on Defense, which describes a scenario of "high-intensity war" on the European continent, and Russia is called a "fundamental threat."
