A new Military Mobility Transport Group, bringing together national authorities, the European Defence Agency and the European External Action Service, will oversee implementation.
The communication also mentions forthcoming reviews of the Rail Service Facilities Regulation and the Air Services Regulation, as well as a 2026 evaluation of the flexible use of airspace rules and a pledge to promote dual-use airports.
The text also foresees the creation of a solidarity pool and a strategic lift reserve enabling the shared use of EU and national transport assets in crises.
Other initiatives include a military mobility catalogue of dual-use transport assets, a digital information system for movement authorization, and support for an EU network of civil-defense drone testing centers.
A big part of Europe’s military mobility push is mapping 500 hotspots — the bridges, tunnels and ports that act as bottlenecks for military transport — and updating them to military standards. The communication also foresees an effort to better link the EU’s transport infrastructure to Ukraine that will cost as much as €100 billion.
The Commission wants the EU to set aside €17.7 billion for military mobility under the Connecting Europe Facility in the bloc’s next seven-year budget starting in 2027 — a tenfold jump from the €1.7 billion in the current budget.
The communication also notes that the EU needs to better protect its infrastructure against cyber and hybrid attacks. The bloc has seen a proliferation of such threats, including this Sunday’s explosion on a key Polish railway that the government attributed to “sabotage.”
“Europe must take decisive action,” the communication says. “While progress has been made, the EU remains shackled by fragmented approaches that undermine our ability in moving military equipment and personnel across Europe.”