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On 17 June 2026, Member States unanimously approved the Council’s negotiating mandate on the proposed Regulation establishing a framework for military mobility across the European Union. The proposal aims to facilitate the movement of military units across and beyond the EU by reducing administrative barriers, improving coordination, and enhancing the availability of transport capabilities.

The Council’s mandate introduces several changes to the European Commission's proposal. It revises the governance of the proposed emergency framework (EMERS/EMMERS), allowing the Council to activate the mechanism on its own initiative while extending the activation period from 48 to 72 hours. The Council further revises the authorisation procedure for military transport under EMERS/EMMERS. Whereas the Commission proposes automatic authorisation of military transport while EMERS/EMMERS is activated, the Council would allow Member States to choose between general authorisation and a case-by-case permit regime. Member States would retain total discretion over the conditions under which military transport operations take place on their territory. The duration of emergency measures would be limited to six months.

One of the most consequential changes concerns priority access for military transport operations to transport infrastructure during EMERS/EMMERS. The Council confirms that military transport may be granted priority access across transport networks and infrastructure but proposes that no mandatory compensation – both to those providing transport services and to using them - as well as to those should be payable for disruptions caused by such priority measures. However, Member States would remain free to establish national compensation schemes.

The Council also rejected provisions that would have automatically required all transport capacity financed through EU funds to be registered in the proposed Solidarity Pool. Similarly, Member States did not support the acquisition of dedicated “Union capacities” to address transport shortages. Instead, the Council favours the use of service contracts with commercial operators, enabling transport and logistics capacity to be mobilised when needed through contractual arrangements. Such services would be registered in the Solidarity Pool. In addition, Member States call for the development of a secure and cyber-resilient digital platform to manage the Solidarity Pool and support coordination amongst authorities and operators.

For the freight-forwarding sector, the Council mandate contains a mixed bag. While it simplifies certain military mobility procedures, it does not address several concerns raised by the transport and logistics industry. In particular, the Council confirms that no mandatory compensation mechanism should apply for disruptions caused by military priority access during EMERS/EMMERS and does not introduce specific liability safeguards for commercial operators whose services or assets may be affected. By contrast, a majority in the European Parliament seems to favour provisions requiring compensation for infrastructure owners and operators affected by military priority measures.

The proposal forms part of the EU’s broader efforts to strengthen resilience, preparedness, and the dual-use functionality of transport infrastructure. The Council and the European Parliament are expected to begin trilogue negotiations once Parliament adopts its position, currently expected for 23 Jule 2026. The Regulation is anticipated to be formally adopted by the co-legislators before the end of 2026.