In 2022 there was already talk of this: having a better army does not help much if it cannot be launched. That year was the beginning of many meetings in Europe with the Russian Ukraine Invasion as a fuse. Then there was talk of rearmebut attention also focused on something that Europe has just elevated in the priority list: the need to prepare roads, railways, ports and airports for the rapid movement of troops and tanks.
Background: Russia.
European military vulnerability. Had three years ago The political environment that the debate on the real capacity of Europe to resist an eventual Russian attack had put a fundamental aspect that usually is hidden behind rearmament ads: it is not enough to have more tanks or soldiers if the necessary infrastructure To move them quickly.
Roads, railroads, ports and airports of the European Union show serious limitations when it comes to supporting the weight and volume of modern armored ones, or absorbing an intense military traffic in times of crisis.
The east. As He warned then The American Lieutenant retired Ben Hodges, excommanting of the United States Army in Europe, the problem is aggravated the more advances east: bridges unable to support German, British or American combat cars and mountainous routes that hinder access to key countries such as Romania.
In case of emergency, bottlenecks could delay the deployment of allied forces just at the points where they would be needed more urgently, such as the passage of Suwałki between Poland and Lithuania or the routes towards the Black Sea.
The first mechanism. To deal with these shortcomings, The EU launched The mechanism connect Europe (CEF), an infrastructure fund that also covers military mobility. However, the budget for this mission was drastically reduced: of the 6,500 million euros initially proposed only 1.7 billionand that money, the commission ended up assigning 340 million to 22 projectsthe majority of small scale and focused on central Europe.
Among them They highlighted the improvement of rail links between Antwerp and Germany, the modernization of two airports in Poland and the connection of the Military Tapa base in Estonia. Modest support were also included to large strategic projects Like Rail Balticathe railway corridor of 5.8 billion euros that will connect the Baltic countries with Poland, or Via Baltica, the road that crosses the region, which it received just 60 million of community support.
The new warning. Back to the present, he counted this week The Financial Times That the European Transport Commissioner, Apostols Tzitzikostas, has re -launched a warning that shook the foundations of the European defense: the continent It is not prepared For a large -scale war against Russia because its roads, bridges and rail networks are inappropriate for rapid transfer of troops and armored.
According to explainedmany bridges are Too closetoo old or directly non -existent, which would prevent the transit of tanks from, for example, 70 tons thought to operate in a matter of hours. In practice, moving military forces from west to east of Europe would take weeks or even months, an unacceptable lag in case of a sudden Russian offensive.
The strategy. Solution? To correct this structural weakness, Brussels now work on a 17,000 million plan of euros that provides for the modernization of 500 critical projects along four major military corridors that will cross the continent. It is a design made in coordination with NATO and its military controls, whose details remain classified for security reasons.
The idea is that troops and heavy equipment can move in a matter of hoursfar reducing the reaction time to an aggression. In addition to reinforcing bridges and adapting roads, it will be sought Eliminate bureaucratic obstacles To prevent military convoys from being held on European borders by customs protocols that, in times of war, would be a fatal ballast.
The context of rearme and Russia. The new plan is enrolled in a broader effort of rearme Continental that We have been counting. The European Union studies a package of up to 800,000 million euros to reinforce its defensive autonomyin part in response to the pressures of Washington and the possibility of a substantial reduction of the US military presence in Europe.
To this is added The warning The NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, who in June warned that Moscow could attack a member of the Alliance before 2030. The message of Tzitzikostas fits this urgency logic: without the ability to move troops agilely, any European defense plan would be on wet paper in front of Russian military machinery.
The budget struggle. Although the European Commission has included military mobility in its proposal for the 2028-2034 budget, diplomats warn that the initial figure of 17,000 million It could be diluted In negotiations. This budget fragility is seen as a dangerous contradiction: While considering the expense in defense 5% of GDP (With 1.5% specifically intended for military infrastructure), some Member States (Spain at the head) They resist to assume the costs of such vast modernization.
Tzitzikostas, meanwhile, insists in which Europe cannot afford to continue depending on others or be disarmed by its own bureaucratic slowness. The modernization of bridges, tunnels and railways is not just a matter of civil transport: it has become the backbone of the future European defense.
One thing is clear for curator: an invasion would not wait for forms to be resolved or to reinforce a bridge.
Image | 7th Army Training, US Army Europe, European Roads
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