{"id":188582,"date":"2025-03-20T20:05:54","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T10:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=60861"},"modified":"2025-03-20T20:05:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T10:05:54","slug":"eu-military-mobility-what-is-possible-in-france-should-be-possible-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=188582","title":{"rendered":"EU military mobility: \u201cWhat is possible in France should be possible in Europe\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

European transport ministers gathered in Warsaw on Tuesday to discuss matters of defense. A big topic of discussion was the rapid deployment of troops within and outside the EU in case of a large-scale military conflict. There reportedly was a sense of urgency to improve European infrastructure capacity. Reflecting upon the ministerial meeting, rail consultant Xavier Wanderpepen shares his views on the matter with RailFreight.com.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>A military Schengen is still far away, a stakeholder said at the meeting in Warsaw, according to French media. Moving troops is complex in Europe. National rules to protect roads, axle weight rules or regulations on the transport of dangerous goods. Those are some of the obstacles to efficient military transport across the continent.<\/p>\n

That is not to say that Europe is not doing anything at all to improve military transportation. In 2022, it approved a budget of 1,7 billion euros for dual-use infrastructure. However, that amount is only a small fraction of the initially proposed 6,5 billion euros. The (one might say notorious) frugal member states did not want to take on too much debt in the context of the covid pandemic.<\/p>\n

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A military train in Schwandorf, Germany. Image: Shutterstock. \u00a9 Andreas Wolochow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, Europe needs more money. The EU\u2019s Directorate-General Move (DG MOVE) has identified 500 infrastructure objects to upgrade. While that is a step forward, the European Court of Auditors laments the lack of central coordination and clarity on infrastructure issues. It criticised the Commission\u2019s failure to come up with a solid estimate of the needed funding as well as the fragmented governance of EU military mobility more generally.<\/p>\n