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.
Huge improvement for logistics from overseas NATO to Suwalki gap. Port of Rotterdam (NL) is the largest port in Europe.
Edit: spelling. Thanks
Suwalki, but yes.
At the same time, with the Baltic states and Finland in NATO now - and Sweden on the cusp of accession - the Suwalki Gap has become much less of a strategic bottleneck for NATO.
It’s still the shortest route between Kaliningrad and Belarus, though, so it would still be a major objective for both sides if war were to break out.
Oh, for sure, it would be a major battleground area (if for no other reason than Putin would LOVE to paste the “Russia Takes Suwalki Gap” as a headline everywhere - it’d be a wet dream for an old KGB spook like him. All I mean is that even if that does happen, it’s not going to be as catastrophic as it would have been before Finland joined, and it’s definitely not going to be as catastrophic as it would have been before the USSR fell. Now, Kaliningrad has become more of a strategic liability than an asset.