European Union member states are set to implement drastically reduced time limits for approving the cross-border transit of military troops and equipment under a proposed “Military Schengen” system. This initiative, designed by the European Commission, aims to significantly enhance military mobility and defence readiness across the bloc, reflecting heightened geopolitical tensions.
Under the new proposal, national authorities will have a maximum of three days in peacetime to grant permission for other EU military forces to cross their borders. This approval window will shrink dramatically to just six hours during emergency situations, with an automatic presumption that transit will be granted in times of crisis.
The current system is hampered by non-harmonised rules across the 27 member states, often resulting in approval processes that can take weeks to complete. European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, highlighted the urgency of the change. “Today, in order to move military equipment and troops from, let’s say west to east, unfortunately it takes months,” Tzitzikostas noted. “What we want to do is to make it happen within days.”
“You cannot defend a continent if you cannot move across it,” he told a briefing, underscoring the necessity of creating this “military Schengen” to ensure rapid reinforcement.
The Military Mobility package is the latest in a series of plans from the European Commission intended to substantially bolster the EU’s defence capabilities before the end of the decade. A core element is the creation of a new European military mobility enhanced response system, modelled on the EU’s existing Civil Protection Mechanism for disaster relief.
Military Mobility Solidarity Pool: This mechanism will allow member states to rapidly free up and share strategic assets, such as flat trains, ferries, and airlift capabilities, for use by other EU countries.
Military Mobility Catalogue: A list of dual-use transport and logistic assets from civilian companies that can be quickly repurposed for military operations will be compiled.
Military Mobility Transport Group: A new coordination body comprising a national coordinator from each member state will oversee this work.
This group will also be responsible for prioritising financing for approximately 500 identified infrastructure projects. The objective is to upgrade key infrastructure—including roads, railway lines, ports, airports, tunnels, and bridges—to ensure they can bear the weight and size of heavy military equipment. These upgrades will focus on improving four agreed-upon military corridors, though their locations remain undisclosed.
“Solid logistic networks make the difference between winning and losing wars,” Tzitzikostas asserted, adding that the focus is on “short-term, quick win investments to quickly increase capacity.”
The Commissioner estimates that the extensive infrastructure work required will necessitate an overall investment of €100 billion. However, the EU has so far only earmarked €1.7 billion for military mobility within the current multiannual budget, which runs until 2027—an amount Tzitzikostas described as “a drop in the ocean.”
The funding proposal for the subsequent seven-year budget, starting in 2028, is set at just under €18 billion. While representing a tenfold increase, this figure still falls significantly short of the estimated need.
The Commission suggests that member states can leverage the dual-use nature of the infrastructure projects to tap into additional funding sources. These include cohesion funds—the bloc’s main investment policy aimed at reducing regional inequalities—as well as money from the SAFE defence loan scheme. Furthermore, these investments will count towards the increased defence spending targets set by NATO, as most EU members are also part of the alliance.
“It’s not only money. This package is also about the framework,” Tzitzikostas concluded. Given the current global situation, he stressed, “we have to learn to move faster, we have to learn to work harder and we have to learn to bring the results much earlier than what one would expect.”
