Poland, Germany and the Netherlands have signed an agreement on plans to create a “military transport corridor” that would allow troops and equipment to be moved more easily through their territories to bolster NATO’s eastern flank.
They hope the decision will be a step towards creating a broader “military Schengen” zone within Europe that would allow military personnel and equipment to be moved freely just as the existing Schengen area allows free movement of people.
A memorandum of understanding was signed in Brussels yesterday by the three countries on the sidelines of a meeting of European defence ministers.
“We need a military Schengen to move military personnel and materiel more quickly and efficiently,” tweeted Dutch defence minister Kajsa Ollongren. “This will make Europe stronger. We took an important step: Poland, Germany and the Netherlands signed a declaration to achieve a military corridor.”
“Currently, the effectiveness of military mobility is hampered by the different administrative requirements of countries,” noted her Polish counterpart, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. “In light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, we know how important it is to move efficiently within the EU.”
“We are taking military mobility to a new level on the road to a true military Schengen,” declared Germany’s parliamentary state secretary for defence, Siemtje Möller, quoted by Polskie Radio.
The initial goal of the European Coal and Steel Community was to bind different countries’ wartime economies together to help prevent conflict between those nations. While that happened, there was also a military alliance which all members were a part of.