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Improving military mobility

January 31, 2024

At the “High-Level Symposium” on military mobility at the Royal University Institute of Defense in Brussels on January 30th, politicians and experts met to discuss the results and further activities to improve military mobility in Europe. The European Defense Agency (EDA) organized the symposium as part of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The defense ministers of Germany, the Netherlands and Poland have agreed in a letter of intent on the establishment of harmonized military mobility corridors between the Netherlands, Germany and Poland.

NATO was represented, among others, by the commander of the Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC). According to the EDA, the topics discussed included the harmonization of customs procedures and border permits as well as the dual use of transport capacities.

Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder opened the symposium by saying: “In order to achieve the objectives set out in the Military Mobility 2.0 Action Plan, it is necessary to secure the deployment of our armed forces and their equipment within the European Union for emergency situations at our external borders or beyond to facilitate and accelerate.”

Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, represented at the event by their defense ministers and state secretaries, play a crucial role as host, transit and sending states due to their central location in Europe and their extensive maritime infrastructure. Since NATO and the European Union are based in Brussels, Belgium's cooperation with other partners on the issue of military mobility is one of the main priorities of the Belgian EU Council Presidency.

„In einem Konflikt zählt jede Sekunde. Investitionen in die militärische Mobilität sind nicht nur eine Verpflichtung, sondern eine Investition für heute und morgen, die es unseren Streitkräften ermöglicht, schneller auf Krisen an unseren Grenzen und darüber hinaus zu reagieren“, sagte der Hohe Vertreter der EU und Leiter der EDA, Josep Borrell, in seiner Grundsatzrede. „Der effiziente und nahtlose Transport von Truppen und Material durch Europa ist eine logistische, administrative und infrastrukturelle Herausforderung. Wir müssen Engpässe durch Zusammenarbeit und Investitionen beseitigen, um eine schnelle Beförderung für die Sicherheit Europas zu gewährleisten,“ so Borrell weiter.

According to the EDA, the EU has launched an updated “Military Mobility 2.0 Action Plan”, which provides a comprehensive framework for the development of a well-connected military mobility network with faster response times and a safe, sustainable and resilient transport infrastructure and capacity.

Military mobility is often referred to as a flagship for cooperation between the EU and NATO, writes the EDA. The event discussed how the EDA, Belgium and the other European partners will continue their efforts to improve military mobility in the European and NATO context. This includes greater digitalization of administrative processes and better coordination of cross-border movements on land, sea and air. This is the cornerstone of the defense preparedness of the European continent.

The conference noted that these goals must be achieved with a whole-of-government approach: government, civil industry, defense ministries and stakeholders involved in land, air and maritime transport must work closely together. This dual-use approach will benefit cooperating nations not only in terms of their military capabilities, but also in terms of their national resilience. The Belgian EU Presidency wants to deepen this approach in a dual-use seminar in Ghent in February.

Gerhard Heiming

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