An EU fund to help troops move quickly is too small and poorly managed, auditors say

BRUSSELS (AP) — A European Union fund meant to help speed the deployment of troops, tanks and military equipment around the 27-nation bloc in times of conflict is too small and poorly managed to be effective, auditors said in a report Wednesday.

Allied armies are slowed by red tape at internal EU borders. One member country requires 45 days’ notice before it can authorize military convoys to cross. With war raging in Ukraine, military mobility has taken on greater importance.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said last month that time is of the essence, as Europe’s future security depends on the outcome of the war. If Russian President Vladimir “Putin gets it his way, peace will not last,” he said. “We are safe now. We might not be safe in 5 years.”

The EU’s military mobility fund was part of an “Action Plan” pulled together in 2022 in the months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Money was earmarked for 95 projects in 21 countries to upgrade bridges, roads and railways for dual civilian and military use.

But the fund amounted to just 1.7 billion euros ($1.8 billion), which Tony Murphy – -president of the European Court of Auditors – described as “peanuts” compared to the 300 billion euros ($312 billion) that EU member countries were estimated to have spent on defense last year.

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Murphy said the action plan was drawn up hastily by the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, and that it “was not built on sufficiently solid foundations.”

Unveiling the auditors’ report, Murphy said the commission had acted “without thoroughly assessing needs in advance. As a result, it was unable to estimate a budget commensurate with the objectives.” He said the fund “was a fraction when compared to the overall needs.”

Most of the money meant to improve military mobility for the 2022-2026 period was quickly made available for projects and swallowed up within the first two years, draining the fund. The auditors suggested using EU civilian transport funds to help remove transport bottlenecks.

Of the 95 projects given the green light, most were in countries close to the EU’s borders with Russia, its ally Belarus and Ukraine. A southern transport corridor to Ukraine was all but ignored. Greece received no funds, while a project in Bulgaria received a small grant.

“What is particularly worrying, is that projects were selected in a piecemeal way,” without any obvious strategy, Murphy said. Auditors were surprised to find that some projects were selected even before the commission and member countries had identified the most urgent priorities.

Murphy also said that it was difficult for his auditors, but also for member countries, to work out who was in charge, as “there is no single point of contact at EU level for military mobility.”

In an email sent to reporters before the auditors’ report was released, the commission defended itself by saying that when the EU was confronted with helping Ukraine defend itself the executive branch “responded quickly by accelerating and strongly frontloading” spending on projects.

It noted that military mobility is a priority of the new commission, which started work in December, and that a first-ever defense commissioner has been appointed. The commission pledged to address concerns about a “lack of coordination.”

“We consider the recommendations and conclusions of the European Court of Auditors as an opportunity to make a much-needed progress in the area of military mobility,” the commission said.