The European Union has begun interinstitutional negotiations on its proposed Military Mobility Regulation, commonly described as a “military Schengen”. The legislation is intended to simplify and accelerate the movement of troops, military equipment and supplies between EU countries.
Michał Szczerba, a Polish Member of the European Parliament from Civic Coalition and the European People’s Party, is one of Parliament’s two lead negotiators on the legislation. He expects negotiations to be completed by the end of 2026, allowing EU countries to prepare during 2027 and the new rules to become fully operational at the beginning of 2028.
Szczerba is conducting the negotiations together with Latvian MEP Roberts Zīle. Parliament and the Council adopted their negotiating positions in June 2026, opening the way for talks on the final wording of the regulation. The European Commission initially presented the Military Mobility Package on 19 November 2025.
“The plan is clear. We want to conclude the negotiations by the end of the year so that the regulation can be adopted and fully enter into force at the beginning of 2028,” Szczerba told the Newseria news agency.
“Member states would use 2027 to prepare for full implementation. The beginning of 2028 would be the ideal moment because that is when the new financial perspective starts and new billions of euros will become available for military mobility.”
One set of procedures for cross-border military transport
The proposed regulation aims to replace fragmented national procedures with common deadlines, templates and digital systems. Existing arrangements differ between member states, creating administrative delays when troops or military equipment need to cross several borders.
The Commission says the proposal would establish a binding EU-level framework for military transport. It would harmonise procedures, improve coordination, strengthen cooperation with NATO and increase the resilience of infrastructure used for both civilian and military purposes.
“The most important issue from the perspective of Poland and the eastern flank is that authorisations for the movement of troops and equipment will be significantly accelerated,” Szczerba said.
The legislation provides for standing permissions covering predefined types of military operations and ad hoc permissions for unplanned or short-notice movements. Under Parliament’s negotiating position, decisions on standing permissions should be issued within one month, while ad hoc applications should be processed within two working days.
Countries located along the same military corridor would be encouraged to coordinate permissions, routes and traffic arrangements in advance. Applications concerning transport through several member states could be submitted simultaneously, reducing the risk that separate national procedures delay the entire operation.
Emergency system for military movements
Parliament also supports the creation of a European Military Mobility Enhanced Response System, known as EMERS. It would be activated temporarily when ordinary transport rules or available infrastructure capacity were insufficient to handle a sharp increase in the volume, frequency or speed of military movements.
Under Parliament’s position, the Council could activate the system within 48 hours following a proposal from the European Commission. It could remain in place for up to 12 months and give armed forces priority access to relevant transport infrastructure while seeking to minimise disruption to civilian traffic.
During activation of the emergency mechanism, certain military movements could be treated as automatically authorised. The requesting country would generally have to notify the receiving state no later than six hours before the planned arrival at the border. Rail infrastructure managers could also be required to allocate individual train paths within six hours in specified circumstances.
EU rules are to be compatible with NATO procedures
One of Parliament’s priorities is to ensure that the EU framework remains compatible with NATO standards and procedures. The objective is to avoid creating parallel administrative systems for countries belonging to both organisations.
“Each member state currently has its own procedures. What we have secured in our proposal is full compatibility with NATO standards and procedures, including the use of the same forms,” Szczerba said.
The EU framework is intended to complement NATO’s activities and enable the rapid movement of Allied forces during peacetime, crisis or conflict. Parliament also wants selected mechanisms to be open to non-EU NATO members and candidate countries, including Ukraine and Moldova.
Szczerba stressed that close partners could be included in the planned military mobility solidarity pool, which would bring together transport and logistical capabilities available to the EU and participating countries.
A solidarity pool of vehicles, trains and logistical resources
The regulation would require the European Commission to establish a military mobility solidarity pool within six months of the rules taking effect.
Its purpose would be to address gaps in transport and logistical capacity by creating an inventory of resources that could be shared with countries conducting military movements. The pool could include vehicles, railway rolling stock, ships, personnel, medical units and information and communications systems.
The mechanism would not create a permanent EU military transport fleet. Instead, it would identify and coordinate existing capabilities that could be made available when another member state lacked the resources required for a particular operation.
Poland could receive funding for roads, railways and bridges
The regulation is expected to be particularly important for Poland because of its position on NATO’s eastern flank and its role as a transit country for military support moving eastwards.
“Strategic military mobility corridors will run through Poland,” Szczerba said. “Combined with the new financial perspective, this could provide a major injection of funding for Polish roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railway lines.”
Member states would be encouraged to prioritise the modernisation of dual-use infrastructure. Roads, bridges, tunnels, ports, airports, railway lines and multimodal freight terminals would need to accommodate both civilian traffic and heavier or larger military vehicles.
The Commission has identified four priority multimodal military mobility corridors and around 500 infrastructure “hotspots” across the EU. Potential projects include strengthening bridges, widening tunnels and increasing the capacity of ports and airports.
According to Szczerba, three of the four strategic corridors run through Poland, giving the country a strong position when applying for future EU funding.
“We have identified critical infrastructure points that will have to be strengthened so that military equipment can pass through them,” he said.
Civilian infrastructure must also meet military requirements
EU funding has traditionally focused on developing infrastructure for civilian passengers and freight. The changing security environment means that new projects will increasingly have to satisfy both civilian and military requirements.
“For many years, we benefited from EU membership and developed infrastructure designed for peacetime,” Szczerba said.
“It meets the requirements of civilian transport, but it must now become dual-use infrastructure that also responds to military needs in times of danger.”
This may require higher bridge load capacities, wider tunnels, longer railway sidings, improved access to ports, stronger airport runways and terminals capable of handling oversized military cargo.
Szczerba also highlighted the importance of fuel infrastructure. Poland is not currently connected to NATO’s main pipeline system, even though secure fuel supplies would be essential for large-scale military operations on the eastern flank.
“We looked at the regulation comprehensively. It contains all the elements that were important to the Polish government, the General Staff and infrastructure and transport operators,” he said.
Military mobility budget could increase tenfold
The European Commission has proposed allocating €17.65 billion to military mobility under the Connecting Europe Facility for 2028–2034. That would represent an approximately tenfold increase compared with the €1.69 billion available under the 2021–2027 financial perspective.
The current funding period supported 95 dual-use infrastructure projects in 21 member states. Demand substantially exceeded the available budget, strengthening the case for a larger allocation after 2028.
Additional opportunities could arise under the defence, security and space component of the proposed European Competitiveness Fund. The Commission has proposed €131 billion for this area in the next long-term EU budget, although the final amounts remain subject to negotiations between member states and the European Parliament.
“We are simplifying, digitalising and accelerating procedures, and creating the legal framework,” Szczerba said. “However, the funding must be secured through the new financial perspective.”
He believes Poland could become one of the main beneficiaries of the military mobility programme, as it has been under the EU’s SAFE defence financing instrument.
“I am absolutely convinced that Poland can be the number-one country benefiting from military mobility funding,” the MEP said.
The target of completing negotiations by the end of 2026 and implementing the system in early 2028 remains a negotiating objective rather than a final legal deadline. The regulation must first be agreed by Parliament and the Council and then formally adopted by both institutions.
