In brief
Member states will have at most five days to approve military transport in peacetime, under a deal between the European Parliament and the Council presidency. Some countries currently take up to 45 days.
When a threat arises, member states will have six or 12 hours to decide, and no dispute arose over these procedures.
Negotiators agreed to extend some provisions of the regulation to Ukraine and Moldova.
The third meeting of negotiators is set for 9 December, and work on the regulation should finish by the end of 2026.
- November 2025European Commission presents the draft regulation
- 20 OctSecond round of negotiations, attended by MEP Michał Szczerba
- 21 OctAgreement on the five-day limit reported
- 9 DecNext meeting of negotiators, possibly the last per Szczerba
A five-day ceiling on approvals
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council presidency have agreed that EU member states will have at most five days to approve military transport in peacetime. The reports describe this figure as the central dispute in talks over the so-called "military Schengen", a regulation meant to remove legal and customs barriers to moving troops and equipment across the bloc. Permits are slow today: in some countries, the administrative and customs checks on another state's request can take up to 45 days.
- Current in some countries (up to)
- 45 days
- Agreed maximum
- 5 days
Data from the article text
Under the deal, French, German and Spanish forces would be able to move across the EU, Poland included, with fewer legal and customs obstacles, according to the reports. The Commission's approach applies that same principle to all member states rather than to any single country.
Where the negotiators split
The European Parliament wanted a window of two to three days for national authorities to decide, while member states pushed for four to five. The Council argued that administrations need more time to check who is moving through their territory, what equipment is involved and where it is heading. The member states' position prevailed, so five days is the agreed ceiling. MEP Dariusz Joński said the Parliament's stance was more ambitious, aiming for decisions within three days at most.
Emergencies, Ukraine and the Commission's draft
No dispute arose over procedures in a crisis, and member states will have six or 12 hours to decide when a threat arises. The negotiators also agreed to extend some provisions of the regulation to Ukraine and Moldova. The European Commission put forward the draft in November 2025, treating military mobility as a core part of the bloc's defence capacity. According to the reports, the Commission sees the rapid movement of allied forces as equally important to arms purchases.
The timeline runs from the Commission's draft to the next scheduled meeting of negotiators.
Poland's stake and next steps
Michał Szczerba, the Parliament's negotiator, said three of the four military mobility corridors would run through Polish territory, which makes the new rules and the funding in the EU budget for 2028 to 2034 important to Poland. He attended the second round of talks on Tuesday, 20 October, and described the timetable this way:
“The deadline is ambitious, but very realistic.”
Szczerba added that the third meeting, set for 9 December, could be the last one. Dariusz Joński responded to rumours that troops from other EU countries could cross however they liked. He answered no and said the decision rests with the receiving state:
“The country to which troops or equipment are heading in case of a threat will decide whether it accepts them or not.”
Work on the regulation is expected to finish by the end of 2026.