Europe’s military infrastructure is not fit for war – this is the sobering conclusion reached by Apostolos Tzitzikostas, EU Commissioner for Transport. Roads, bridges and railroad lines are currently not capable of transporting tanks, troops and supplies across the continent quickly enough – for example in the event of a Russian attack, according to Tzitzikostas in an interview with the Financial Times.
Tzitzikostas urgently warned of structural weaknesses and pleaded for a comprehensive 17 billion euro program to improve military mobility.
“If NATO-tanks had to be moved to the eastern flank, they could get stuck in tunnels, cause bridges to collapse or fail due to bureaucracy at internal borders,” says the Commissioner. His diagnosis is clear: “We have old bridges that need to be renovated. We have bridges that are too narrow and need to be widened. And we have bridges that simply don’t exist yet.”
Weeks instead of hours – too slow for an emergency
According to Tzitzikostas, it currently takes weeks or even months in some cases before military equipment can be moved from Western Europe to the EU’s eastern border. “But in an emergency, every hour counts. Effective European defense is not possible without rapid deployability.”
The Greek Commissioner is therefore working on a new infrastructure package, which is to be presented in the course of the year. It comprises around 500 construction projects along four military corridors through Europe – identified together with NATO and its military command staff. The specific location of the projects is being kept secret for security reasons.
One particular problem is that most existing transport routes were never designed for military requirements. While civilian trucks in the EU usually weigh around 40 tons, modern battle tanks such as the Leopard 2 or Abrams weigh over 60 to 70 tons – too much for many bridges and routes.
Bureaucracy as a brake
In addition to structural deficiencies, Tzitzikostas also sees excessive bureaucracy as a threat to operational capability. “We must prevent tanks from failing because of paperwork.” Border crossings in the event of defense must be possible quickly, unbureaucratically and digitally.
The mobility program is part of a Europe-wide rearmament wave, which has been triggered not least by the announced withdrawal of the US security presence and the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine (-> Latest news from the war in Ukraine). NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also recently warned that Russia could attack a NATO country by 2030.
17 billion under pressure
Although the EU Commission has earmarked around 17 billion euros for military mobility in the upcoming multi-year budget for 2028-2034, according to diplomats, there are initial signs that this sum could be reduced in the upcoming negotiations between the member states. Tzitzikostas warns: “We can no longer afford to be unprepared or dependent.”
The mobility initiative complements the latest NATO target of spending five percent of gross domestic product on defense – of which 1.5 percent is specifically for defense-related infrastructure.
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