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EU Launches 'Military Schengen' Plan as Eight States Create Central-Northern Mobility Zone

Brussels moves to cut weeks of red tape by shifting from approvals to rapid notification for military movements.

Overview

  • The European Commission unveiled a package to reduce cross‑EU troop transit from up to 45 days to as little as three, targeting removal of major administrative barriers by the end of 2027.
  • An emergency mechanism called EMERS would waive routine permits in crises, enabling near‑instant transfers with military authorities notifying civilian counterparts of movements.
  • The plan foresees about €100 billion to modernize four priority transport corridors encompassing roughly 500 critical nodes by 2030, with layouts aligned to NATO planning.
  • Belgium, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Czechia signed a memorandum establishing the Central‑Northern European Military Mobility Area as a regional pilot.
  • The CNE MMA builds on a 2024 NetherlandsGermanyPoland corridor and aims to harmonize procedures, improve infrastructure and expand information‑sharing, which participants present as a model for wider adoption; Russia criticized the initiative through Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.