On 6 February we invite you to the round-table discussion “Military Mobility and the EU Multiannual Budget” with Members of the European Parliament Roberts Zīle (Nacionālā apvienība "Visu Latvijai!"/"Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK", member of the bureau of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, Vice-President of the European Parliament) and Petras Auštrevičius (member of the “Renew Europe” bureau, Lithuania – Liberalų sąjūdis). Both MEPs are rapporteurs for the European Parliament's report on military mobility.

Roberts Zīle emphasises:

“Military mobility is fundamentally important to European security, and we still have a great deal to do to ensure that military units and equipment can move efficiently across Europe. Yet there are already several relatively easy wins that we can deliver in a short space of time. For example, we need to make administrative procedures consistent and applied in the same way throughout Europe, which would considerably speed up the movement of military forces across the member states. At the same time, improving military mobility requires substantial funding to upgrade infrastructure. That is also a question for the next multiannual budget, which has yet to be finalised. It is a complicated process and, as the saying goes, the devil is in the detail.”

In the European Parliament, Roberts Zīle sits on four committees – Economic and Monetary Affairs, Transport and Tourism, Tax Matters and Budgets – as well as on two delegations: the delegation for relations between the European Union and Japan and the delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly.

Petras Auštrevičius:

“To preserve Europe's strength and its ability to deter aggressors, it is vital to demonstrate our readiness to act. That includes the ability to deploy troops and equipment rapidly across the EU. Reducing the administrative burden and developing capabilities and dual-use infrastructure are not a luxury but a necessity. Parliament stresses that much remains to be done to create a genuine ‘military Schengen area', and it must be done as quickly as possible.”

Petras Auštrevičius is a Member of the European Parliament from Lithuania (Liberalų sąjūdis). In the European Parliament he is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Security and Defence, as well as a member of the Subcommittee on Human Rights; he also serves on the delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee.

The discussion is being held as part of the “Meet Your MEP” series organised by the European Parliament Liaison Office in Latvia. This is the MEPs' second year in office since their election in 2024.

The discussion will be held in both Latvian and English, with Petras Auštrevičius taking part online.

Venue: House of the European Union, 2nd floor, Aspazijas bulvāris 28, Riga

Please confirm your attendance by 5 February using the registration link:
https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/06022026