A few days ago, Switzerland became a new potential member of the EU project for military mobility. The project aims to remove obstacles to military movements and reduce travel times within the EU. This applies to transportation by road, rail, air and inland waterways. The project is chaired by the Netherlands.
The main aim of Switzerland’s planned participation in the military mobility project is to improve administrative processes through greater “standardization”. This should improve the uniformity of the Alpine country’s defense apparatus.
Acceleration of movements
Military mobility is part of the larger “Pesco” project. This permanent structured cooperation was established in 2017 to support EU member states in strengthening their defense cooperation. Non-EU member states can also participate, provided they meet certain conditions. Switzerland is now a potential member. Previously, Canada, Norway and the United States had already joined as non-EU countries. These three countries now work together with 26 EU member states.
They all have the same goal: to accelerate military movements in Europe. These are often delayed by administrative and infrastructural problems. This mainly refers to customs formalities or narrow roads and bridges. Each country is normally responsible for removing these obstacles itself. However, the “Pesco” project helps the participating countries to exchange information about their national efforts. The aim is to improve military mobility throughout Europe.
