EU military mobility drive could trigger €100bn infrastructure upgrade

A bridge in Warsaw, Poland. Image: Adobe Stock

The European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA) said existing infrastructure should be assessed to determine whether it can accommodate the heavier loads, larger dimensions and other requirements associated with military movements.

Its call comes as the EU develops what it has described as a ‘Military Schengen’, intended to allow military personnel and equipment to move more quickly across national borders.

The European Commission has already identified around 500 “hotspot projects” along four priority military mobility corridors where infrastructure bottlenecks need to be removed. Work could include strengthening bridges, widening tunnels and increasing capacity at ports and airports.

A Commission document estimates that the 500 projects could require around €100 billion (US$111.8 billion) of urgent investment.

EFCA, which represents engineering consultancy associations in 27 countries, said engineering assessments were required to establish where investment should be prioritised.

It called for “corridor-by-corridor engineering assessments” to identify bridges, tunnels, ports and rail links requiring reinforcement for dual civilian and military use.

‘Faster paperwork’ not enough

The EU’s proposed military mobility framework is intended to cut the processing time for routine cross-border military movements to a maximum of three working days.

It also includes an emergency system, known as the European Military Mobility Enhanced Response System (EMMERS), which could fast-track permissions and provide military transport with priority access to infrastructure in exceptional circumstances.

But EFCA warned that administrative changes need to be matched by improvements to the physical network. It said faster cross-border procedures risk being undermined if bridges cannot carry the required loads, tunnels have insufficient clearance or other parts of a corridor are unable to handle military traffic.

The organisation wants engineering-led certification of priority corridors alongside the regulatory changes.

It also called for resilience requirements to be built into new and upgraded transport, energy, water and digital infrastructure rather than added later.

€17.65bn (US$19.7bn) proposed for military mobility

The European Commission has proposed €17.65 billion (US$19.7 billion) for military mobility under the next Connecting Europe Facility for 2028-2034, around ten times the funding available under the current budget period.

EFCA said funding should move towards a coordinated multi-year pipeline rather than a series of individual national projects.

It also wants greater use of structural health monitoring, IoT sensors and digital twins on important routes, allowing authorities to monitor the condition and capacity of infrastructure used for military movements.

Cybersecurity and physical protection should also be incorporated at the design stage for infrastructure intended for both civilian and military use, it said.

The EU is aiming to establish an EU-wide military mobility area by the end of 2027. The proposed regulation is currently progressing through the legislative process, with the Council having agreed its negotiating position in June.

For the construction industry, the programme could ultimately translate into a substantial pipeline of bridge strengthening, tunnel modifications, port and airport upgrades and other work along Europe’s priority transport corridors.