MEPs have taken steps to simplify the movement of troops and military equipment across the bloc
EU legislators have supported a bill for a “military Schengen area” that would remove the bloc’s internal borders to enable rapid movement of troops and matériel in case of a conflict with Russia.
Senior EU officials have already cited claims of an alleged threat from Russia to justify large military spending packages, such as its massive €800 billion ($938 billion) ReArm Europe initiative. Moscow has dismissed claims that it poses a threat to EU or NATO countries as baseless.
The proposal was first put forward by the European Commission last month and aimed to create an EU-wide “military mobility” zone by 2027, seeking to cut through the bloc’s red tape and reduce the time required for different militaries to cross borders.
With the non-binding resolution adopted, lawmakers on the bloc’s Transport and Defense Committees are now set to advance the bill, the European Parliament stated in a press release.
MEPs also approved a proposal to allocate €17 billion between 2028-2034 to “military mobility” and address long-term logistics and infrastructure challenges, such as bridges and tunnels ill-suited for heavy vehicles like tanks. Upgrading these “hotspots” would require at least an additional €100 billion, according to the press release.
EU countries have ramped up their militarization in recent months, releasing €335 billion in pandemic relief funds and mobilizing €150 billion in loans and grants for the bloc’s military industrial sector. Some of these funds have been made available to Kyiv.
This push for militarization has been paired with increasingly confrontational remarks from officials, including France’s top general, Fabien Mandon, who warned French citizens last month to prepare to “lose children” in a possible conflict with Russia.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin cautioned that Europeans are “being indoctrinated with fears of an unavoidable confrontation with Russia” through “a false and irrational narrative about an imaginary Russian threat.”
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has emphasized that Moscow has “no aggressive intentions toward NATO or EU members,” and is willing to provide legal assurances to that effect “in writing, on a collective, reciprocal basis.”