EU member states will have just three days in peacetime and six hours in emergencies to allow other European military troops and equipment to cross their borders under a new "military Schengen" proposal from the European Commission, designed to improve military mobility across the bloc significantly.

Axar.az, citing Euronews, reports that Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, stated that: "Today, in order to move military equipment and troops from, let's say, west to east, unfortunately it takes months"..." What we want to do is to make it happen within days"..."You cannot defend a continent if you cannot move across it," he told a briefing attended by Euronews and other outlets.

"It's very clear. So we're creating this military Schengen." The so-called Military Mobility package will be officially presented later on Wednesday. It is the latest in a series of plans released by the European Commission since the beginning of the year to substantially bolster the EU's defence before the end of the decade – by which time, some intelligence agencies believe, Russia could have the means to attack another European country.

One of the key measures will be the fast-tracking of permitting for cross-border military mobility.

Currently, the rules across the 27 member states are not harmonised, with some taking weeks to reply to a request from another EU country to move troops and/or equipment on their soil.