At last week’s meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels, Belgium, European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc discussed the EU Action Plan on Military Mobility.
The EU Action Plan on Military Mobility was adopted at the end of March, and seeks to synchronise and standardise military requirements across the bloc, and take advantage of synergies between civilian and military needs in the transport sector. The plan also aims to address any emerging regulatory and procedural issues and ensure these are interoperable with transport regulations at both EU and national levels.
What will the action plan achieve?
The fundamental goal of the plan is to make better use of Europe’s existing transport network for military purposes, and ensuring that the needs of the armed forces are taken into account during planning for transport infrastructure projects. Ultimately, this could benefit the European transport sector and deliver cost efficiency for military transport.
In the EU’s most recent multiannual financial framework, the European Commission proposed €13bn for efforts to implement a dedicated European Defence Union over the seven years from 2021-2027. The EU Action Plan on Military Mobility will directly support the goal of establishing a fully-operational Defence Union in place by 2025, by developing and standardising key elements of co-operation frameworks and infrastructure.
What did Bulc say?
Commissioner Bulc told NATO delegates that the plan would prevent “physical and administrative obstacles” which often hamper military exercises. Often, troops and assets moving through EU member states can be blocked at borders, and making transport more interoperable across these borders would significantly improve military mobility.
The first stage towards implementing the plan involves consulting on the specific requirements it will need to fulfil, Bulc explained. “We first need the detailed description of the military requirements, across all relevant modes of transport, both in geographical terms… and in terms of technical performance.”
Bulc also spoke of the value that the proper implementation of the EU Action Plan on Military Mobility would deliver, saying: “Our action plan… is all about a higher level of security for the EU citizens. And, since many EU countries are members of NATO, it is also about a higher level of security and effectiveness of the military personnel of all NATO allies. That is what we want to concretely achieve, by leveraging EU policies which we already address for civilians.”
In line with President Juncker’s commitment to a fully-fledged Defence Union by 2025, the Commission and the High Representative are presenting an Action Plan to improve military mobility within and beyond the European Union.