Europe's defense via inland ports and waterways: From logistical bottleneck to strategic multiplier

The forgotten front: Why civilian inland ports suddenly become strategic NATO bases

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European security has faced a new reality in which the rapid deployment of troops and heavy equipment has become a strategic necessity. But traditional transport routes—roads and railways—are already chronically congested and only partially suitable for transporting tanks, artillery, and supplies on a large scale. At this critical moment, a long-underestimated system is coming into focus for EU and NATO defense planners: Europe's extensive network of inland waterways and ports.

Previously considered purely civilian transport arteries for the economy, the Rhine, Danube, and other rivers are emerging as a hidden strategic resource. Their enormous capacity for heavy loads, reduced bureaucratic burden, and the possibility of 24/7 operation make them the ideal transport route for supplying NATO's eastern flank quickly and efficiently in an emergency. However, this "hidden defense force" can only be harnessed if massive challenges are overcome: a decades-long backlog of repairs, infrastructure bottlenecks, and the growing threat of climate-induced low water levels.

This text analyzes how Europe's waterways can be transformed from a logistical bottleneck into a crucial strategic multiplier within the framework of the EU's "Military Mobility" concept. It is the story of a fundamental reassessment in which civilian infrastructure such as ports and canals become the central pillar of European alliance defense, and policy, technology, and military planning must intertwine in new ways.

The hidden defensive power of inland ports in Europe's infrastructure

Why is inland waterway transport becoming a focus of European defense planning?

Europe's geostrategic landscape has fundamentally changed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This watershed moment has highlighted with renewed urgency the critical importance of robust logistics and the ability to rapidly deploy forces for credible deterrence and defense of Alliance territory. The ability to move military forces and heavy equipment quickly, seamlessly, and at scale has evolved from a secondary technical issue to an urgent strategic priority for the European Union (EU) and NATO. In this context, Europe's extensive network of inland waterways and ports, traditionally a purely civilian domain, is undergoing a fundamental reassessment as a strategic resource for collective defense.

The shift to waterways is less a mere opportunity than a strategic necessity. It results from the recognized vulnerability and increasing saturation of traditional land transport routes. Civil logistics already suffers from chronically congested road and rail networks. Large-scale military transports, particularly of tanks, artillery, and other heavy or oversized equipment, dramatically exacerbate these bottlenecks and are often associated with extreme bureaucratic and physical hurdles. Inland waterway transport, on the other hand, has considerable spare capacity and is systemically far better suited for heavy-duty transport. The strategic reorientation toward waterways is thus a logical alternative to increase the resilience of the entire European defense logistics system. The goal is to reactivate a third, high-capacity transport corridor and upgrade it for military purposes.

This report examines how this "hidden defensive power" of waterways can be transformed from a potential logistical bottleneck, characterized by the backlog of rehabilitation and the impacts of climate change, into a strategic multiplier for European security. The analysis ranges from the civilian foundations of inland navigation to the military-strategic requirements of "military mobility" and existing infrastructural deficits, as well as concrete potential, case studies of strategic ports, and technological and political future prospects.

The civil basis – Europe’s inland waterways as a logistical backbone

What role does inland waterway transport play in the European economy and logistics?

Inland waterway transport is an integral and often underestimated component of the European transport system. It is a cost-effective, safe, and, compared to road and rail, particularly environmentally friendly mode of transport. It boasts high energy efficiency and, crucially for future needs, still considerable spare capacity. The system's advantages are evident: an inland waterway vessel can transport a ton of cargo almost four times as far as a truck with the same energy consumption, while generating significantly lower CO2 emissions. Germany plays a central role in this, handling approximately half of the EU's total inland waterway volume.

Its systemic relevance is particularly evident in the transport of bulk goods. Inland waterway transport is an indispensable supply chain for key industries such as the steel and chemical industries, which source large quantities of raw materials such as ores, coal, petroleum products, and basic chemicals by water. For example, around 40% of the steel industry's transport volume is handled by water. In addition, container transport, particularly in the inbound and outbound traffic of major seaports, is steadily gaining importance, integrating the hinterland into global supply chains.

The industry's economic structure is predominantly fragmented. It is characterized by a large number of small companies, known as private operators, which often operate only one or two vessels. Despite its fundamental importance to the economy, transport performance is volatile. It is influenced by economic cycles, but also increasingly by external factors such as the extreme low-water events of recent years. For example, the volume of goods transported on German inland waterways fell to 172 million tons in 2023, the lowest figure since German reunification.

What characterizes the infrastructure of inland ports and how has their function changed?

The role of inland ports has changed dramatically in recent decades. Formerly purely transshipment points for transfers between ships and land transport, they have evolved into highly developed, multifunctional logistics and industrial centers. These hubs now host significant logistical value creation, ranging from packaging, assembly, and distribution to repair services and further processing and finishing of goods. Functions traditionally located in major seaports are increasingly being relocated to inland ports in the hinterland, further increasing their strategic importance.

The key prerequisite for this development is the trimodal connectivity that characterizes strategically important ports such as Duisburg and Vienna. They seamlessly link waterways, rail, and road, thus serving as integrated hubs in the European transport network. This intermodal capability is key to efficient and resilient supply chains. This systemic importance was recognized at the European level as early as 2001 with the official inclusion of inland ports in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). Today, around 70% of Germany's federal waterways are of international importance as part of this core network.

This functional transformation of inland ports from mere transshipment points to comprehensive logistics hubs is the crucial foundation for their potential military usability. A mere transshipment port would be inadequate for the complex requirements of military logistics. Military deployments are more than just transporting material from A to B; they require secure staging areas, vehicle maintenance and repair capacities, large and secure storage areas, and the ability to reassemble and assemble units and materials for onward transport. Modern inland ports already offer precisely these capabilities – warehouses, repair services, distribution areas, and crane systems for heavy loads – to the civilian sector. Military use thus directly benefits from this already advanced civilian development. A port's ability to serve as a "strategic multiplier" depends directly on its level of development as a modern, integrated logistics hub. The new defense policy requirements thus accelerate and underpin a civilian transformation that is already underway.

The strategic context – Military mobility as a cornerstone of alliance defense

What is behind the concept of “military mobility” and why is it so crucial for the EU and NATO?

The concept of "Military Mobility" refers to the ability to move military personnel, materiel, and equipment quickly, efficiently, and unhindered within and beyond the borders of the European Union. Often referred to as "Military Schengen," it aims to eliminate the two main obstacles to rapid troop deployments: bureaucratic barriers and physical infrastructure deficiencies. The overarching goal is to ensure that Allied forces are "in the right place at the right time," whether within the framework of an EU or NATO operation.

The political framework for this initiative was established in 2017 with the establishment of a dedicated project within the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) framework, led by Germany and the Netherlands. Building on this, the European Commission presented an initial action plan in 2018. Following the Russian all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022, this was revised with renewed urgency and relaunched as the "Military Mobility 2.0 Action Plan" for the period 2022-2026. Both the EU's Strategic Compass and NATO's 2022 Strategic Concept emphasize the essential importance of military mobility for collective defense.

Military mobility is a prime example of the complementary and strategic partnership between the EU and NATO. Cooperation is clearly divided: While NATO defines the military requirements—that is, which forces need to be deployed where and how quickly—the EU focuses on the civilian and regulatory framework that enables this. This includes adapting transport infrastructure, harmonizing legal procedures, and providing financial resources. The transatlantic relevance of the project is underscored by the fact that strategic partners such as the US, Canada, Norway, and the UK have joined the PESCO project. This approach marks a paradigm shift in European security policy: The EU is leveraging its inherent civilian expertise in the areas of transport, infrastructure, and the internal market, as well as its powerful financial instruments, to close a genuinely military capability gap. It is thus circumventing its own treaty limitations in the area of ​​"hard" defense by strategically deploying its civilian policy areas. The EU thus becomes an indispensable player for NATO—not by providing armies, but by creating the physical and regulatory conditions for their deployment. Infrastructure policy becomes geopolitics here.

What concrete obstacles – bureaucratic and physical – hinder the rapid deployment of troops in Europe?

Despite political prioritization, significant obstacles remain. A European Parliament report in 2025 soberingly noted that seven years after the initial action plan in 2018, many of the problems identified then—outdated bridges, tunnels, railways, and inconsistent regulations—remain unresolved. Progress is slowed by the EU's complex structure and the fact that defense and infrastructure planning remain largely national competencies.

The first major obstacle is bureaucratic. A patchwork of lengthy and non-harmonized national procedures for cross-border permits, known as cross-border movement permits, exists. Each border crossing often requires separate applications for diplomatic clearances (diplomatic overflight or transit permits), customs formalities, and special permits for the transport of dangerous goods or oversized and heavy equipment. The stated goal of the EU Action Plan is to reduce the time required to issue such permits to a maximum of three working days—a goal that requires significant national efforts. The European Defence Agency (EDA) is therefore working on technical arrangements to standardize and simplify these procedures for land, air, and waterway transport.

The second, equally serious obstacle is physical. Large parts of Europe's transport infrastructure are not designed to meet the demands of modern military transport. Many bridges cannot support the weight of heavy battle tanks, tunnels are too low, and railway lines are unsuitable for loading wide military equipment. Bottlenecks and missing links, particularly in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), continue to prevent seamless and rapid transport. Identifying and eliminating these physical vulnerabilities is therefore a core concern of the EU initiative.

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The logistical bottleneck – infrastructural deficits and systemic weaknesses

What specific infrastructural deficiencies limit the capacity of European waterways?

European, and especially German, waterway infrastructure suffers from a significant and long-standing backlog of renovations, which severely limits its capacity. A large portion of the network does not meet modern requirements for efficient freight transport. Almost 60% of the waterways in the German core network fail to meet minimum quality standards, such as a lock length of 110 meters for modern large motorized cargo vessels or a guaranteed unloading depth of 2.80 meters on at least 250 days per year. The aging of the infrastructure is dramatic: around half of all locks are over 80 years old, and more than 70% of the weirs are in a precarious structural condition. The situation is exacerbated by a lack of staffing in the responsible planning and administrative authorities, which further slows the implementation of urgently needed renovation and expansion projects.

The most common bottlenecks that hinder shipping traffic are bridge clearances that are too low, making the economically important two-layer container transport impossible, for example, inadequate and unreliable channel depths, and outdated or insufficiently small locks. A prominent example is the section of the Danube between Straubing and Vilshofen in Germany. Although extensive studies were conducted that clearly demonstrated the benefits of further expansion, the German authorities opted for a variant that does not create a sustainable improvement in navigability conditions. In a special report, the European Court of Auditors criticized the fact that many projects financed with EU funds only addressed individual bottlenecks in isolation, without contributing to an overall improvement in navigability on the major corridors.

In addition to these bottlenecks, important gaps in the network ("missing links") remain, such as the still-unfinished Seine-Scheldt connection between France and Belgium. A continuous waterway network navigable by modern large motorized cargo vessels is not in sight in Germany in the foreseeable future.

How does climate change exacerbate the vulnerability of inland navigation?

In addition to the backlog of repairs, inland waterway transport is becoming increasingly vulnerable due to the effects of climate change. The biggest and most pressing problem is more frequent and prolonged periods of extreme low water, which particularly affect Europe's most important waterway, the Rhine. While there used to be an average of 20 low water days per year on the Rhine, there were 132 in a recent extreme year. The years 2018 and 2022, with historic record lows, have dramatically demonstrated the fragility of the system.

The logistical and economic consequences are severe. At low water levels, ships can no longer utilize their loading capacity and must operate with significantly reduced tonnage. This significantly increases transport costs per ton and undermines the cost advantages of inland navigation. In extreme cases, when water levels fall below critical levels, shipping traffic comes to a complete standstill on entire stretches of the river. This endangers the security of supply for important industries that rely on waterways and leads to massive economic losses. As a result, freight transport on German waterways declined by 25 million tons, or 11.1%, in 2018 alone.

In response, various adaptation measures are being pursued. These include structural interventions such as the stabilization of river bed sections to counteract the drop in water levels and create more reliable navigation conditions. In parallel, the development and modernization of the fleet toward vessels with shallower drafts is being advanced. Another important component is the improvement of digital forecasting tools, which provide stakeholders with longer-term forecasts of expected water levels and thus enable better planning. Although less frequent, extreme flood events can also lead to shipping closures lasting several days, as has happened several times on the Upper Rhine in recent decades.

To what extent does the fragmentation of infrastructure pose a particular challenge for NATO's eastern flank?

NATO's eastern flank, which stretches over 4,000 kilometers from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, is characterized by a particularly fragmented and strategically vulnerable infrastructure landscape. Structural deficiencies in roads, whose load-bearing capacity is often insufficient for heavy military vehicles, in rail networks with different gauges between Western and Eastern Europe, and in under-equipped ports and airfields, hamper NATO's ability to rapidly deploy forces and sustainably supply them in the event of a crisis. This particularly affects the deployment of rapid reaction forces such as the NATO Response Force (NRF), which must be operational within a few days.

In this context, the Rhine-Main-Danube Corridor is of paramount strategic importance. It represents the only continuous waterway linking the industrial and logistics centers of Western Europe with the Black Sea region and thus with NATO's southeastern flank. While the Rhine, the Main, and the Main-Danube Canal are of a high standard, the Danube downstream of Germany suffers from significant navigability problems and bottlenecks, particularly in the sections in Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania. These deficiencies disrupt the logistics chain and prevent the corridor from realizing its full potential.

Defense planning for the eastern flank requires robust logistics, including fuel supply. The NATO Pipeline System (NPS), established for Western Europe during the Cold War, is inadequately developed on the eastern flank. Large quantities of fuel would therefore have to be transported primarily via the already overburdened rail and road networks, further underscoring the importance of the waterway as an alternative and high-capacity transport route. Upgrading this corridor is therefore not just a matter of economic efficiency, but a key element in strengthening military deterrence and defense capabilities on the eastern flank.

The strategic multiplier – the waterway as a military transport route

What inherent advantages does inland waterway transport offer for the transport of large military equipment?

The inland waterway vessel offers a number of inherent advantages that make it particularly suitable for the transport of large military equipment and the logistics of armed forces. The most obvious advantage is its enormous transport capacity. A single modern inland waterway vessel can carry the cargo of 50 to 90 trucks or several dozen railway wagons. A pushed convoy consisting of a push barge and four barges can move up to 7,000 net tons of cargo, equivalent to the capacity of 280 trucks. This mass capacity is ideal for the deployment of closed convoys or large quantities of ammunition, fuel, and supplies, as the material remains together and does not need to be distributed among hundreds of individual vehicles.

Closely related to this is their outstanding suitability for heavy and bulky cargo, known in logistics jargon as "high and heavy." Inland waterway transport is predestined for the transport of goods that are too heavy, too wide, or too high for road or rail transport. This encompasses virtually the entire spectrum of heavy military equipment, from combat and infantry fighting vehicles to armored bridge-laying vehicles and engineering equipment to large radar systems. The loading areas of inland waterway vessels can accommodate extremely high point loads, and there are specialized heavy-lift inland waterway vessels for particularly demanding project cargoes.

Another key advantage is the increased predictability and reduced bureaucratic hurdles. While every single heavy goods transport by road requires a complex and often months-long approval process for the specific route, which can include route inspections, police escort, and traffic control measures, the use of federal waterways for such transports is largely exempt from permits. Furthermore, there are no weekend, holiday, or night-time travel bans on the waterways, enabling 24/7 operation and shortening transport times. Finally, inland waterway vessels are considered a very gentle means of transport, exposing sensitive and expensive cargo to only minimal physical stress such as vibrations or abrupt acceleration. The risk of accidents is extremely low compared to other modes of transport. The practical feasibility was most recently impressively demonstrated during the NATO exercise "Great Crossings 2025," in which multinational engineer forces successfully crossed the Rhine using various bridge and ferry systems without causing any lasting disruption to ongoing civilian shipping traffic.

How is the civil-military dual-use of infrastructure defined and financed?

The term "dual-use" originally originates from export control and refers to goods, software, and technologies that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, such as a high-performance laser or specialized machine tools. In the context of military mobility, the EU has strategically extended this term to include transport infrastructure. A bridge, a port, or a railway line becomes "dual-use infrastructure" when it is modernized to not only improve civilian traffic flow but also meet the specific requirements of military heavy transport—for example, a higher load capacity or a larger clearance gauge.

This redefinition has also been enshrined in law. The revised TEN-T Regulation, adopted in June 2024, establishes the concept of a "military mobility transport network" in EU law for the first time. It mandates the European Commission, in coordination with the Member States and NATO, to identify priority military mobility corridors and ensures that the entire TEN-T network is gradually developed into a largely civil-military infrastructure.

These ambitious projects are primarily financed through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU's central financing instrument for strategic investments in transport, energy, and digital infrastructure. Within the current multiannual financial framework (2021-2027), a specific pot of €1.69 billion was created within the CEF transport budget for projects to improve military mobility. This pot will specifically co-finance dual-use projects on the TEN-T network. The strategic importance of this approach is reflected in future plans: a drastic increase in funding is planned for the next EU budget (2028-2034). The budget for military mobility is to increase tenfold to a total of €17.65 billion. This underscores the long-term political commitment to systematically upgrade European infrastructure for defense purposes.

How CEF funds strengthen roads and railways for dual-use infrastructure

How CEF funds strengthen roads and railways for dual-use infrastructure – Image: Xpert.Digital

Between 2021 and 2027, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) will provide €1.69 billion in military mobility funding to co-finance dual-use transport infrastructure projects on the TEN-T network. The CEF Work Programme 2021–2023, part of this overall budget, initiated the first calls for projects; 35 projects were funded in 2022 and 38 in 2023. For the planned funding period 2028–2034, CEF III envisages a significant expansion to €17.65 billion to close infrastructure gaps and strengthen strategic corridors.

Analysis of strategic hubs – focus on corridors and ports

What is the geostrategic importance of the Rhine-Main-Danube corridor for supplying NATO's eastern flank?

The Rhine-Main-Danube Corridor is the geostrategic artery of the European inland waterway network. As the only continuous navigable connection between the North Sea and the Black Sea, it forms the backbone for freight transport between Western and Southeastern Europe. The corridor connects the highly industrialized regions of France, the Benelux countries, and Germany with NATO partners Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania, and extends to the Ukrainian border. In a crisis or defense scenario, this waterway would be invaluable for the deployment of heavy military equipment and the sustainable logistical supply of troops on NATO's southeastern flank. It represents a high-capacity alternative to the already heavily congested and potentially vulnerable land transport routes.

The military use of the Danube has a long historical tradition, stretching from the Roman fleets to the Chaiks of the Habsburg Monarchy to the fierce battles of the Romanian and Soviet Danube flotillas in World War II. The enormous efforts undertaken by the German Wehrmacht during World War II to transport small warships and submarines overland and by river to the Black Sea underscore the strategic importance of this connection to this day.

The corridor's greatest weakness, however, remains its heterogeneous infrastructure. While the Rhine, Main, and Main-Danube Canal enjoy a high and reliable standard of development, the Danube downstream of Germany suffers from significant navigability problems. Narrow passages, insufficient channel depths, and a lack of maintenance, particularly in the sections in Hungary and along the Bulgarian-Romanian border, prevent continuous and predictable transport with modern vessels. Eliminating these bottlenecks is therefore a central project of European transport and safety policy.

Case study Duisburg: How can the world's largest inland port serve as a logistics hub for national and alliance defense?

The Port of Duisburg, known as duisport, is the world's largest inland port and a logistics hub of European standing, predestined to play a central role in national and alliance defense. Its strategic location on the Rhine, with excellent trimodal connections to a dense network of highways and Germany's largest rail freight center, makes it an ideal hub for military transport. Material and troops arriving at major North Sea ports such as Rotterdam or Antwerp can be efficiently transported from Duisburg by rail, road, or further by inland waterway vessel, inland or eastward.

The port's infrastructure is already designed to meet the demands of large and heavy-duty transport. The Duisburg Gateway Terminal (DGT), currently under construction, will, upon completion, have an area of ​​almost 150,000 square meters, six block train tracks directly beneath crane systems, and several berths for inland waterway vessels. These capacities, combined with the existing expertise in handling extremely heavy and oversized goods – such as those already used for the transport of wind turbines or heavy machinery – are directly transferable to the needs of the military.

Furthermore, duisport is positioning itself as a pioneer in sustainable and resilient logistics. The DGT will be Europe's first container terminal to operate in a climate-neutral manner, partly through the use of hydrogen generated on-site by large-scale electrolysis plants. These investments in a self-sufficient energy supply not only increase sustainability but also the port's strategic resilience in times of crisis by reducing dependence on external power grids. Due to its size, multimodal connections, and comprehensive logistics services, the Port of Duisburg is ideally suited as a central assembly, transshipment, and staging area for military forces in the heart of Europe.

Case study Danube ports: What role do ports such as Constanța, Bratislava and Budapest play as gateways to the Black Sea and Eastern Europe?

The ports along the Danube form the crucial logistical gateways to NATO's southeastern flank. At the forefront is the Romanian port of Constanța. Due to its direct location on the Black Sea and its connection to the Danube via the Danube-Black Sea Canal, it is the most important eastern gateway for all European inland waterway traffic. It serves as a crucial hub for the movement of goods between the EU and the Black Sea region and is of central importance for the supply of Romania and Bulgaria, as well as for transit to Ukraine. With 30 kilometers of quayside, 156 berths, and heavy-duty cranes, its infrastructure is designed to handle enormous volumes of cargo.

Further upstream, the ports of Bratislava (Slovakia) and Budapest (Hungary) form central hubs in the heart of Central Europe. They are important multimodal logistics platforms that closely link the Danube waterway with national and international rail and road networks. For NATO, they are essential for the distribution and onward transport of materials and supplies to the Central and Eastern European member states.

The Danube ports are technically well-equipped for handling heavy and bulky cargo. There are specialized terminals, such as the heavy-duty port in Linz, and the technical capabilities for both vertical (lift-on/lift-off, LoLo) and horizontal (roll-on/roll-off, RoRo) handling, which is crucial for the loading of vehicles. The Danube itself, with its more generous bridge clearances compared to the Rhine and the 24/7 operation of the locks, offers good nautical conditions for such transports. The development of these ports into efficient military logistics hubs is a key component in strengthening the entire eastern flank. This is also being advanced by the establishment of "military mobility corridors," such as the one between Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania, which aim to reduce regulatory hurdles and upgrade infrastructure in a coordinated manner.

Technological innovation and political integration as enablers

How can digitalization and automation increase the efficiency and safety of inland navigation?

Digitalization and automation are key drivers for making inland shipping and its ports more efficient, safer, and more resilient. Advanced digital tools are already being implemented in inland ports. Projects like "MultiRELOAD" utilize the concept of the "digital twin"—a virtual representation of the port and its processes—to monitor operations in real time, optimize them using AI-supported simulations, and improve resource utilization. Initiatives like "GREEN INLAND PORTS" promote the development of a digital master plan to increase operational efficiency while reducing the ecological footprint.

Another crucial step is the data networking along entire transport corridors. The cooperation between the ports of Rotterdam and Duisburg, and the Swiss Rhine ports aims to create a continuous digital corridor in which data can be seamlessly exchanged between sea and inland ports, terminals, and freight forwarders. This transparency simplifies planning, reduces complexity, and increases the efficiency of the entire supply chain.

The most revolutionary development in the long term is autonomous shipping. While the technology for maritime shipping is already well advanced, transferring it to the complex conditions of inland waterways—with narrow channels, changing currents, locks, and bridges—presents a particular challenge. EU-funded research projects such as "ReNEW" and "SEAMLESS" are working intensively on solutions for autonomous or remotely controlled inland waterway vessels and the necessary infrastructure adaptations. Autonomous vessels offer enormous strategic advantages for military logistics: They reduce the risk to human personnel, can operate in decentralized swarms to reduce vulnerability to attacks, and enable flexible "just-in-time" supply directly in crisis areas.

What political and regulatory steps are necessary to unlock the full potential of waterways for European defense?

To fully exploit the strategic potential of inland waterways, concerted political, financial, and regulatory efforts are required. First and foremost is the need for sustainable investment and clear political prioritization. The elimination of the massive renovation backlog and the known bottlenecks in waterway infrastructure must be vigorously pursued. The massively increased EU funding from the CEF Fund for Military Mobility is a crucial lever for this, but must be complemented by appropriate national investment programs and human resources within the administrations.

Second, the harmonization of cross-border procedures must be consistently completed. The technical agreements developed within the framework of PESCO and the EDA to simplify permits must be fully implemented by all Member States in order to move from slow, individual solutions to a reliable, standardized system. The greatest challenge here is not technological or financial, but political and cultural: overcoming national silos. Success depends on the ability to understand logistics as a shared, transnational, and cross-departmental task. This requires a shift in mindset away from nationally limited infrastructure projects and toward thinking in terms of pan-European, strategic corridors in which regulation, infrastructure, and technology seamlessly intertwine.

Third, climate resilience must become a central planning principle. Future infrastructure projects must not focus solely on capacity expansion but must systematically consider the impacts of climate change, particularly the risk of low water levels. Investments must aim to ensure year-round navigability, which includes promoting innovative vessel types and testing new water management strategies.

Finally, further in-depth and institutionalized coordination between the EU and NATO is essential. Joint infrastructure planning, the establishment of technical standards, and regular joint exercises must ensure that civilian investments fully meet military requirements and that genuine interoperability is guaranteed. The development of military mobility corridors, which, as pragmatic "coalitions of the willing," overcome fragmentation, is a promising model for this and must be further expanded.

Container terminal systems for road, rail, and sea in the dual-use logistics concept of heavy-duty logistics - Creative image: Xpert.Digital

In a world characterized by geopolitical upheavals, fragile supply chains, and a new awareness of the vulnerability of critical infrastructure, the concept of national security is undergoing a fundamental reassessment. A state's ability to ensure its economic prosperity, the supply of its population, and its military capability increasingly depends on the resilience of its logistics networks. In this context, the term "dual-use" is evolving from a niche category of export control to a overarching strategic doctrine. This shift is not merely a technical adaptation, but a necessary response to the "turning point" that requires the profound integration of civilian and military capabilities.

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