Push continues for action on European military mobility

Mack Defense on-road heavy equipment transporter. Photo: Mack Defense

A new military mobility position paper for Europe has been published by the European association of abnormal road transport and mobile cranes (ESTA). The association is pushing law makers in Brussels to deliver on the promise of efficient and common heavy transport regulations for both military and industrial use.

While ESTA’s paper strongly backs the EU’s Military Mobility Package, it also includes recommendations on further improvements and ways to ensure operational practicality. The association submitted the paper to representatives of DG Move, the European Parliament and the Council.

ESTA said it especially welcomes the inclusion of civilian abnormal road transport operators in the Package; the proposed new transport provisions such as a standard permitting procedure; and short deadlines for ad hoc procedures. The association also  stressed, however, the need to finalise revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive and to introduce further harmonisation of rules on abnormal transport.

Commenting on the move Ton Klijn, ESTA director, said, “We have written to our members asking them to share the position paper with their own national authorities, regulators and politicians as we try to ensure that this opportunity is not lost as the reforms are essential for Europe’s industrial success and military security.”

The importance of civilian abnormal road transport for military mobility is a point strongly emphasised in ESTA’s position paper. “The transport of heavy and oversized military equipment relies on civilian operators and mobile cranes. Solutions limited to purely military assets will not work in practice.”

What the paper calls for:

• * fast, predictable and harmonised military transport permits in a single EU framework
• * exemptions for civilian operators in crisis situations, for example, exemption from traffic bans, cabotage restrictions and environmental rules
• * more flexible and workable driving and resting time rules in emergencies
• * increased investment in dual-use infrastructure
• * critical infrastructure such as bridges to be clearly marked to show abnormal transport capacity.

The paper also calls for legal clarity for civilian transport companies and their operators and for civilian expertise to be integrated into governance bodies. These include the National Coordinators for Cross-Border Military Transport and the Military Mobility Transport Group.

At the time of writing the Military Mobility Package was under discussion by the European Parliament and the Council before entering the Trilogue negotiations between the Parliament, the Council and the European Commission. Trilogue negotiations aim to reach agreement on new EU laws faster by ironing out differences before the formal legislative readings are completed. Each institution puts forward any amendments they wish to propose and the talks aim to agree a single compromise text which can then be formally approved by Parliament and the Council.

“This work is extremely important and we hope all involved appreciate its urgency. ESTA will continue to actively advocate for finalising the work on the Military Mobility Package as soon as possible, and by the end of this year at the latest,” Ton Klijn said.

Work on some dual-use transport infrastructure projects is already underway as part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

This paper can be downloaded below and is in the library section of the ESTA website: https://estaeurope.eu/docs/library/transport/