{"id":44296,"date":"2018-03-29T20:08:06","date_gmt":"2018-03-29T20:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/29\/eu-pushes-new-plans-to-rapidly-move-combat-gear-across-europe\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:29:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:29:55","slug":"eu-pushes-new-plans-to-rapidly-move-combat-gear-across-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2018\/03\/29\/eu-pushes-new-plans-to-rapidly-move-combat-gear-across-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"EU pushes new plans to rapidly move combat gear across Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COLOGNE, Germany \u2014 The European Union<\/a> wants to quicken the pace of moving military equipment across countries on the continent to prepare for future crises<\/a>, according to a planning document unveiled Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project is billed as a key prerequisite for an ambitious project to build European defense capabilities outside of NATO, though still in support of alliance objectives. The \u201cAction Plan on Military Mobility\u201d comes after years of deteriorating relations with Russia<\/a>, though no mention is made of the eastern neighbor in the March 28 communication to the European Parliament and the European Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While EU member states have fused many of the policies governing citizens\u2019 daily lives, there are still bureaucratic hurdles toward the free flow of military equipment from Portugal to the Baltics and anywhere in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pilot exercise initiated by Estonia last year demonstrated the viability of beginning larger-scale planning for a Europe-wide transportation network capable of handling heavy equipment like tanks, the document states. That drill examined the ability for countries along a North Sea-Baltic corridor to pass equipment from one end to the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exercise uncovered height and weight restrictions on some bridges and put a spotlight on the lack of heavy-loading equipment used for oversized military materiel traveling by rail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A railway worker walks among Marder light tanks of the Bundeswehr after they had been loaded onto trains for transport to Lithuania on Feb. 21, 2017, in Grafenwoehr, Germany. (Sean Gallup\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The new planning directive builds heavily on the idea of advancing dual-use scenarios, or tweaking transportation infrastructure meant for civilian purposes to also work for shipping military gear. By next year, European Commission officials will study what specific logistics projects are needed to enable greater mobility of military goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\t