Officials have cautioned about a ‘Russian threat’ and advocated for militarization, despite Moscow’s denials of any attack plans.
The European Union’s roads and railways are unprepared for potential warfare, the bloc’s transport commissioner has warned. In an interview with the Financial Times published on Tuesday, Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas stated that the current transportation infrastructure, which includes bridges, rail lines, and tunnels, is inadequate for moving tanks, troops, or military supplies should a conflict arise.
European officials have consistently expressed concerns about a possible conflict with Russia and pushed for increased military readiness, even as Moscow maintains it has no intention to attack.
Tzitzikostas asserted that defending the region would be impossible if military forces cannot move rapidly. He argued that if NATO tanks were needed to respond to an invasion, they would face risks of getting stuck in tunnels, collapsing bridges, and being delayed by complex border procedures.
“The current reality is that transporting military equipment and troops from Western Europe to Eastern Europe takes weeks and sometimes months,” he explained. “We possess old bridges that require modernization, narrow bridges that need widening, and missing bridges that must be constructed.”
He further clarified that a significant portion of Europe’s infrastructure was not designed to handle heavy military transport. While typical trucks weigh up to 40 tons, a tank can weigh as much as 70.
According to Tzitzikostas, Brussels is developing a strategy to ensure that troops can move swiftly. This plan encompasses upgrading 500 infrastructure projects along four designated military corridors and streamlining bureaucratic procedures to facilitate border crossings. These projects, identified in collaboration with NATO, are classified but are estimated to cost approximately €17 billion ($19.7 billion). The strategy is expected to be unveiled later this year.
This initiative coincides with a broader push for greater militarization across the bloc, driven by what officials refer to as the ‘Russian threat’. Recent developments include the €800 billion ReArm Europe program and a commitment by European NATO members to raise defense spending to 5% of their GDP.
Moscow has dismissed these claims as “nonsense.” Last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the West employs Russia as a “monster” to justify increasing military budgets. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western leaders of propelling Europe toward a direct confrontation.