Call for ‘military Schengen’ to get troops moving, politico.eu

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European leaders have made a priority of greater military cooperation, yet the ability of NATO forces to operate in Europe is still hindered by border restrictions and mismatched infrastructure, according to uniformed commanders and EU defense ministers.

 While NATO has made substantial progress in surmounting legal hurdles to cross-border operations, lingering bureaucratic requirements — such as passport checks at some border crossings and infrastructure problems, like roads and bridges that can’t accommodate large military vehicles — could slow or even cripple any allied response to an emerging threat, officials warned.

To lift the roadblocks, and speed coordinated military action, the Dutch defense minister, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, called on EU officials to create a so-called military Schengen zone. The idea, loosely modeled on the open-border travel zone that has covered most of Europe since 1996, has also been a long-time goal of the senior United States Army commander in Europe, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges…

According to some officials, the military Schengen zone would be an ideal first step because there is little financial cost or basis for political disagreement. One historic challenge is that while NATO has greater responsibility for multilateral military cooperation, the EU and its national governments retain authority over border regulations…

A NATO official said that the alliance supported the Dutch proposal, especially if it prompted the EU to take similar steps. Läs artikel

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