NATO proposes the creation of a 'military Schengen zone'
The commander of U.S. ground forces in Europe, Lt. General Ben Hodges, expressed the need for the unrestsricted movement of military units of the alliance countries.
The U.S. commander of ground forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, spoke in favor of the creation of a so-called military ‘Schengen zone’ in order to facilitate quick and unrestricted movement of NATO units. "We need a military Schengen zone so allied units can move at the pace fo the growing threats," Hodges stated during the closing ceremony of the Anakonda 2016 military exercises. He emphasized that NATO troops should actively work on the capacity for movement of units as well as increased interoperability.
"We will try to create multinational divisions that will allow effective communication - no one should prevent us from doing this," the General emphasized, adding that it is necessary to think about conducting similar exercises in southern Europe, for example, near the Black Sea.
"Poland has given us the perfect example and it can be the basis for the same type of exercises," Hodges noted.
The largest military exercises, Anakonda 2016, were conducted from the 7-17th of June in Poland with the participation of Ukraine. 31,000 soldiers from 24 countries took part in the joint maneuvers. One of the scenarios was to counter a "hybrid war".