Roads, bridges and boundaries. Without infrastructure there is no defence of Europe

Zdjęcie: Drogi, mosty i granice. Bez infrastruktury nie ma obrony Europy

Europe can have modern weapons, many armies and ambitious political declarations, but if it cannot decision troops and dense equipment rapidly at a time of danger, it remains strategically vulnerable. The war in Ukraine exposed brutal truth: the real strength of states and alliances begins not in gathering rooms, but on roads, bridges, railway lines and border crossings.

Today, in the European Union, the spread of troops and equipment between associate States can be so complicated that it takes up to 45 days in utmost cases. In the realities of modern war is simply a time erstwhile conflict can be settled. Hence, the increasing demands of creating a alleged "military Schengen" region where allied armies could decision almost as freely as civilians today.

Bureaucracy vs. geopolitical reality

The Union has built for years a strategy based on procedures, consents, forms and administrative barriers. This was actual in times of comparative peace. However, in a planet where Russia is fighting a full-scale war just beyond the east border of the EU, specified an approach becomes a luxury which Europe cannot afford.

Today, transport of tanks, haubic or rocket systems across respective countries requires tens of permits. There are frequently differences in traffic regulations, bridge weight limits, deficiency of adequate rail ramps or narrow tunnels. As a result, even the best military units can get stuck in paper discipline – before they get where they are truly needed.

Military Schengen: necessity, not ideology

The thought of military Schengen assumes that, in a crisis situation, EU and NATO troops will be able to cross borders within hours alternatively than weeks. This is not about the abolition of controls in a political sense, but about operational efficiency: previously agreed transport corridors, harmonised procedures, ready-made plans for the deployment of forces.

This solution is peculiarly crucial for the east flank of Poland, the Baltic countries, Romania and Finland. If aggression happens, the first days will find the success of the defense. And without fast reinforcement from the West, even the best prepared front state will fight under uneven conditions.

See also: Drones alternatively of safety illusions. Polish army enters a fresh era of war

Infrastructure as a strategical weapon

However, real defence begins not in documents, but in concrete and steel. Most European roads, viaducts and bridges were designed for civilian traffic – trucks weighing respective tons. Meanwhile, the modern combat tank weighs more than 60–70 tons. In many regions of Europe, specified equipment simply cannot pass safely.

Investment in dual-use infrastructure is so crucial: roads, railways and engineering facilities that service citizens during peace and during the Army crisis. This is not a militarisation of public space, but an component of a liable safety policy.

The European Commission is announcing an increase in military mobility backing to EUR 17 billion in the next budgetary perspective. This is simply a step in the right direction, provided that money does not get stuck in apparent projects, and it goes where it is truly needed – to upgrade bridges, strengthen the pavement, build logistics nodes and adapt railways to transport dense equipment.

Poland on the front line

For Poland the subject is not theoretical. Borders with Russia and Belarus, we are a key transport corridor for NATO forces to the east. If the infrastructure in our country proves to be inefficient, not only our security, but the credibility of the full alliance will suffer.

Therefore, the modernisation of roads, bridges and railway lines along military corridors should be treated as an component of national defence on an equal basis with the acquisition of arms. You can have state-of-the-art tanks and rocket systems, but if you can't decision them quickly, they will stay useless.

Sovereignty by efficiency

Contrary to the rumours of "giving up Brussels' competences", improving military mobility does not weaken national states. On the contrary, it strengthens their ability to defend their own territory. It remains crucial that decisions to decision troops should always be taken at the level of the governments of the associate States and that EU mechanisms service only as a method tool alternatively than a political one.

Europe cannot build safety on illusions and declarations. In a planet of hard geopolitics, consequence times, logistical efficiency and real ability to act are important. The military Schengen and infrastructure investments are not a "European project" in an ideological sense – they are part of the fundamental instinct of endurance of a community of states that want to stay free.

Because without roads, bridges and efficient borders, there's no defense. And without a defense, there is no sovereignty.