August 23, 2017

Why Europe Needs a ‘Military Schengen Zone’

While President Donald Trump was issuing bombastic threats toward North Korea and Venezuela earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis quietly met with his Dutch counterpart, Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, at the Pentagon on Aug. 15. They discussed the ongoing crises in North Korea and Venezuela and continued their talks on NATO defense spending. But, to the surprise of many, they also touched on a more esoteric topic: the idea of introducing a “military Schengen zone” on the European continent, freeing up the movement of troops and materiel between EU member states.

Under current laws, the movement of military forces throughout Europe must follow strict rules that create limits on what militaries can do during exercises. Critics of creating a new military Schengen zone say it is somewhat pointless, as changes have already been made to allow for soldiers and supplies to move quickly between countries during the event of a conflict. The problem is that credibility, interoperability and readiness are only achieved through exercises and training during peacetime. Read the full article in World Politics Review.

  • Podcast
    • April 30, 2025
    Ukraine Negotiates for Its Future

    There’s been a flurry of activity on the Ukraine front this week. Over the weekend, Donald Trump briefly met with Zelensky in Rome during ceremonies for Pope Francis’ funeral....

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend

  • Commentary
    • The Washington Quarterly
    • April 30, 2025
    A U.S. Strategy for Advancing EU Enlargement

    In 2014, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker famously declared a pause in the European Union’s enlargement. This pause is now over, after Russia’s 2022 invasion ...

    By Nicholas Lokker

  • Video
    • April 30, 2025
    The U.S. Is No Longer the Leader of the West

    Trump’s second term has dismantled the idea of the U.S. as the leader of the West and instead it’s almost “every nation for itself”, says Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center f...

    By Jim Townsend

  • Podcast
    • April 25, 2025
    Germany's New Defense Agenda

    On April 9th, Friedrich Merz, the leader of Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union, secured a coalition agreement with the Social Democrats following his party’s vi...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia