First step to military highway Europe

brussels - Soldiers and defense equipment must be able to move more smoothly through Europe in the future. A Dutch proposal to speed up the now often syrupy procedures by obtaining diplomatic consent within five days can count on broad support from NATO countries.

Minister Ank Bijleveld (Defense) also received the support of NATO CEO Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels. The intention is for the 29 heads of government to make political commitments at their summit in July and then to set concrete targets, for example to tackle infrastructure bottlenecks. The American minister Jim Mattis was already enthusiastic.

The initiative for a 'military highway' is an important example of cooperation between the EU and NATO. On the EU side, 24 countries signed for the project. Bijleveld wants to keep pressure on the boiler. On 1 March, the Netherlands is organizing a kick-off meeting in The Hague with the EU member states participating in the so-called PESCO project.

Military transport through Europe for, for example, exercises in Eastern Europe now gives a lot of bureaucratic red tape. Sometimes hundreds of documents are needed and it can take weeks and sometimes months before a country gives permission. In the case of a military conflict, the rules can be set aside.

In response to new threats, NATO ministers have decided that a new command will come for easing military transport within Europe. That is almost certainly in Germany. A decision about the location and how many people will be working there is expected in June.