On Wednesday 28 March, European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc presented the action plan of the European Commission and of the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on military mobility.
"Improving military mobility is one of the practical measures towards a fully-fledged Defence Union by 2025. And we must be capable of rapidly deploying troops and material in the EU or for launching a military operation abroad", such as common security and defence missions, Bulc told press. The allies, notably the Americans, are pushing for the transport of troops and material to be facilitated within the EU.
While military mobility is known under the name of 'Military Schengen', Bulc refrained from using this term because this "it is about a defence strategy for all the member states", including those that are not members of NATO.
The action plan, which follows on from the joint communication ("Improving military mobility in the EU") of November 2017 (see EUROPE 11902), proposes concrete measures concerning both the transport infrastructure and regulatory and procedural issues.
The initial step will be to identify the "military requirements" that reflect the needs of the EU and its member states, including the infrastructure necessary for military mobility. By the middle of this year, the Council will therefore have to assess and approve these military requirements.
The European Commission observed that the current transport infrastructure was not necessarily appropriate for military needs. A pilot project, initiated by the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU last year involving the countries of the North Sea-Baltic corridor of the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T), indeed showed that, in several states, the size or tolerance of bridges in terms of weight was insufficient to enable the passage of some laden military vehicles.
It is nevertheless clear from this project that synergies could be created by ensuring the dual use of infrastructure for civilian and military purposes, more particularly on the main TEN-T corridors. "The main objective here is to make full use of our transport network for dual purposes, military and civilian", Bulc stated.
The Commission has therefore identified several key actions. By the end of the year, the Commission, in conjunction with the member states, European External Action Service (EEAS) and military personnel from the EU and European Defence Agency, will identify the differences between the standards applicable to the TEN-T network and military needs, which will have been raised by the member states. For 2019, the Commission will list the TEN-T corridors appropriate for military use, the infrastructure renovations targeted, and the projects for dual use, as well as their costs. The needs for the review of the regulation on the TEN-T will then be considered.
Alongside this, the Commission asks the member states to take account of military needs when they decide to build new transport infrastructure.
The Commission also proposes working on regulatory and procedural barriers. Some member states complain, for example, of a lack of clarity on the use of the form which it is necessary to complete (NATO form 302) for the temporary export and reimportation of military goods by or for the armed forces.
By the end of the year, the Commission will therefore assess the possibilities for streamlining and simplifying the customs formalities for military operations. It will also evaluate the need to harmonise rules on the transport of dangerous goods in the military domain. Alongside this, the European Defence Agency will help the member states develop an authorisation system for cross-border movements. The Commission also considers that the military mobility dimension should be taken into account during the implementation of actions included in the common framework on the fight against hybrid measures.
"We are essentially looking at the harmonisation of fragmented national rules, and at simplifying the procedure to reduce administrative burdens and costs which ultimately lead to delays and hamper military mobility", Bulc stated. In her view, these insufficiencies have a cost of €30 billion.
The Commission does not furthermore see any significant impact of the action plan on the EU budget, with the exception of possible measures for the dual use of infrastructure. "We must first make an inventory of the needs, then we will try to find the resources", Bulc stated. She says that she will therefore take account of this at the proposal on the next multiannual financial framework (MFF), which will be put forward on 2 May, without, however, giving any quantitative indication.
Military mobility is also one of the cooperation actions between the EU and NATO and is one of the projects developed by 24 states via permanent strengthened cooperation. The articulation between the three projects does not yet seem clearly identified (see EUROPE 11976). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Lucas Tripoteau)