The European Union has no shortfall in infrastructure policy. Rather, it lacks integration. While it has built substantial regulatory frameworks for energy, transport and digital systems, these remain fragmented across sectors, with limited coherence and integration of defense considerations. In an era of rising hybrid threats and deepening infrastructure interdependence, this gap is a strategic vulnerability.
This matters because EU infrastructure is more interconnected than ever. Energy systems are increasingly electrified and digitized, while transport networks depend on a stable power supply. Interdependence improves efficiency, but it also means that disruptions are no longer confined to a single sector.
A failure in energy can affect transport, industry and, ultimately, military readiness.
The EU must address this problem to reduce its exposure to potential external attacks and sabotage.
This article is part of The Parliament's special policy report "Infrastructure for a connected Europe"
EU strengths and weaknesses
The EU has madeprogress but has not yet achieved a genuinely integrated approach. Frameworks such as the Trans-European Networks for Energy, which supports cross-border energy infrastructure, and the Trans-European Transport Network, which focuses on rail, road and port connectivity, illustrate both progress and limitation.
TEN-E enabled the Baltic states to connect to the European electricity grid, further reducing their dependence on Russia. TEN-T supports projects such as high-speed rail connections between Tallinn and Warsaw, strengthening connectivity within Europe.
Fragmentation is evident in how infrastructure investments are governed. Planning remains largely sectoral, with limited coordination between energy, digital systems and security, and little attention to how they depend on one another. This disconnect becomes visible at critical infrastructure nodes, such as ports.
Modern ports are no longer just transport hubs — they also handle energy imports, support digital systems and play a role in military logistics. An attack combining cyber disruption with physical damage to energy supply could paralyze logistics and interrupt energy flows.
The impact on European defense
This gap has implications for defense. Around 75% of the so-called NATO Host Nation Support — the military assistance that ensures the rapid movement of Allied forces, including entry permits and transport escorts — relies on civilian infrastructure and commercial services.
However, defense requirements remain only partially incorporated into EU infrastructure planning. While TEN-T has begun to integrate military mobility considerations, similar thinking is absent in energy and digital infrastructure.
As the EU continues to invest in offshore wind in the North Sea or transport corridors — such as the North Sea-Baltic Corridor and the Baltic Sea-Adriatic Sea Corridor — interdependence will deepen.
The challenge, therefore, is not only to build infrastructure, but to manage it as an integrated system.
This requires planning and introducing joint cross-sector requirements within existing EU frameworks, so that energy, transport and digital investments are assessed together rather than in isolation.
A pivotal instrument to enhance such coordination is the Connecting Europe Facility, whose funds are critical to improving coordination between TEN-E and TEN-T.
Greater priority should be given to critical nodes such as ports, interconnectors and offshore infrastructure, where targeted resilience investments can reduce the risk of cascading disruptions across multiple sectors. At the same time, defense considerations should be embedded into civilian infrastructure planning.
This does not mean militarizing infrastructure but ensuring that systems critical to military mobility and operations are prioritized in EU infrastructure planning. Project selection and permitting must account for the resilience of and potential disruption to critical assets, such as rail corridors, ports and energy interconnectors.
Finally, clearer governance arrangements are needed to coordinate responses to cross-sector disruptions. This includes defining leadership roles and coordination mechanisms at both national and EU levels, reducing reliance on bilateral agreements and fragmented approaches — a vulnerability Europe can no longer afford.
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