EU prepares for possible war with Russia: 75 billion euros invested in ports and transport

The project will be the largest defense infrastructure investment in Europe since World War II.

The EU has begun a large-scale modernization of ports and transport infrastructure in preparation for a possible military confrontation with Russia. The Wall Street Journal reports.

This involves investments of up to 75 billion euros – an amount that many times exceeds the EU’s previous spending on military mobility.

Work is already underway in ports in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania. The facilities are being adapted to quickly receive NATO military units and equipment in the event of a threat. In total, NATO and the European Commission have identified 500 critical infrastructure facilities that need modernization – these are ports, bridges, tunnels, roads and railways.

The European Commission plans to include these costs in the new five-year budget. This is significantly more than the current funding of 1.7 billion euros until 2027.

“The ability to quickly move troops and equipment across Europe is critical for security,” said European Commissioner for Transport Apostolos Tsitsikostas.

Although the main goal of the project is to increase defense capabilities, the EU emphasizes that modernization will also bring benefits in peacetime through the development of roads, railways, digital and communication infrastructure.

At the same time, some business representatives express concern. In particular, the port of Gdynia emphasizes that the reorientation of ports to military needs should not harm their commercial efficiency. Private investors are already wary of investing in infrastructure projects that could become a target for Russian attacks.

USM also recently wrote that Ukraine spoke for the first time at a session of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee.