Find EU-funding for your projects now!Search for FundingSearch for programsReset all filters

  1. Select the type of organisation that you are interested in to implement projects.

    The role of an organisation involved could by lead partner, regular project partner, associate partner, and observers.

    Info
    Type of organisation

  2. Select countries that you are interested in to implement projects.

    The funding regions are defined by countries only. In case only part of a country (certain NUTS regions) is eligible for funding relevant information is provided in the description of the programme.

    Info
    Funding region

  3. Select themes that you are interested in to implement projects.

    16 different thematic keywords were predefined when the database was set up. Each call is classified according to this system either with one, two or more themes to facilitate the search for suitable calls.

    Info
    Topics

  4. You can use free text when searching for interesting calls. All you need to do is to enter a phrase in the text bar that EuroAccess is to look for in its database.

    When looking for a phrase in the free text bar, the system will perform an exact-match search. This means that it will search the database for the exact words, in their exact order. However, you can opt for two different approaches:

    1. You can use “AND”, in this way: One AND Two. EuroAccess will look in the database for the fields which records contain both One and Two, regardless of their order and their position in any sentence.

    2. You can use the “OR”, in this way: One OR Two. In this case, EuroAccess will search the database for fields that contain either the word One or the word Two. It will retrieve all the fields with one of these words or with both.

    However, you should prefer phrases or complex words over simple words in you text searches.

    Info
    Keyword
    Selection of eligible entitiesReset all

  1. An institution, body, office or agency established by or based on the Treaty on European Union and the Treaties establishing the European Communities.

    All education and training facilities for people of different age groups.

    An intergovernmental organization having legal personality under public international law or a specialized agency established by such an international organization. An international organization, the majority of whose members are Member States or Associated Countries and whose main objective is to promote scientific and technological cooperation in Europe, is an International Organization of European Interest.

    An NPO is an institution or organization which, by virtue of its legal form, is not profit-oriented or which is required by law not to distribute profits to its shareholders or individual members. An NGO is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that does not represent business interests. Pursues a common purpose for the benefit of society.

    A partnership, corporation, person, or agency that is for-profit and not operated by the government.

    Any government or other public administration, including public advisory bodies, at the national, regional or local level.

    A research institution is a legal entity established as a non-profit organization whose main objective is to conduct research or technological development. A college/university is a legal entity recognized by its national education system as a university or college or secondary school. It may be a public or private institution.

    A microenterprise, a small or medium-sized enterprise (business) as defined in EU Recommendation 2003/361. To qualify as an SME for EU funding, an enterprise must meet certain conditions, including (a) fewer than 250 employees and (b) an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million. These ceilings apply only to the figures for individual companies.

    Selection of eligible countriesReset all
    Selection of topicsReset all

  1. Administration & Governance, Institutional Capacity & Cooperation 

    This topic focuses on strengthening governance, fostering institutional capacity, and enhancing cross-border cooperation. It includes promoting multilevel, transnational, and cross-border governance by designing and testing effective structures and mechanisms, as well as encouraging collaboration between public institutions on various themes. 

    Innovation capacity and awareness are also key, with actions aimed at increasing the ability of individuals and organizations to adopt and apply innovative practices. This involves empowering innovation networks and stimulating innovation across different sectors. 

    Institutional cooperation and network-building play a crucial role, supporting long-term partnerships to improve administrative processes, share regional knowledge, and promote intercultural understanding. This also includes cooperation between universities, healthcare facilities, schools, sports organizations, and efforts in management and capacity building. 

    This topic focuses on strengthening the agricultural, forestry, and fisheries sectors while ensuring sustainable development and environmental protection. It covers agricultural products (e.g., fruits, meat, olives), organic farming, horticulture, and innovative approaches to sustainable agriculture. It also addresses forest management, wood products, and the promotion of biodiversity and climate resilience in forestry practices.

    In the food sector, the focus lies on developing sustainable and resilient food chains, promoting organic food production, enhancing seafood products, and ensuring food security and safety. Projects also target the development of the agro-food industry, including innovative methods for production, processing, and distribution.

    Fisheries and animal management are essential aspects, with an emphasis on sustainable fishery practices, aquaculture, and animal health and welfare. This also includes efforts to promote responsible fishing, marine conservation, and the development of efficient resource management systems.

    Soil and air quality initiatives play a crucial role in environmental protection and public health. This includes projects aimed at combating soil and air pollution, implementing pollution management systems, and preventing soil erosion. Additionally, innovative approaches to improving air quality—both outdoors and indoors—are supported, alongside advancing knowledge and best practices in soil and air management.

    This topic focuses on protecting the environment, promoting biodiversity, and addressing the challenges of climate change and resource management. It includes efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, develop low-carbon technologies, and reduce GHG emissions. Biodiversity promotion and natural protection are key aspects. 

    It also covers improving soil and air quality by reducing pollution, managing contamination, preventing soil erosion, and enhancing air quality both outdoors and indoors. Water management plays an essential role, including sustainable water distribution, monitoring systems, innovative wastewater treatment technologies, and water reuse policies. Additionally, it addresses the protection and development of waterways, lakes, and rivers, as well as sustainable wetland management. 

    This topic focuses on preserving, promoting, and enhancing cultural and natural heritage in a sustainable way. It includes efforts to increase the attractiveness of cultural and natural sites through preservation, valorisation, and the development of heritage objects, services, and products. Cultural heritage management, arts, and culture play a key role, including maritime heritage routes, access to cultural sites, and cultural services like festivals, concerts, and art workshops. 

    Tourism development is also central, with actions aimed at promoting natural assets, protecting and developing natural heritage, and increasing touristic appeal through the better use of cultural, natural, and historical heritage. It also covers the improvement of tourist services and products, the creation of ecotourism models, and the development of sustainable tourism strategies. 

    This topic focuses on the sustainable management, protection, and valorisation of natural resources and areas, such as habitats, geo parks, and protected zones. It also includes preserving and enhancing cultural and natural heritage, landscapes, and protecting marine environments. 

    Circular economy initiatives play a key role, with actions aimed at innovative waste management, ecological treatment techniques, and advanced recycling systems. Projects may focus on improving recycling technologies, organic waste recovery, and establishing repair and re-use networks. Additionally, pollution prevention and control efforts address ecological economy practices, marine litter reduction, and sustainable resource use. 

    This topic covers labour market development and employment, focusing on creating job opportunities, optimizing existing jobs, and addressing academic (un)employment and job mobility. It also includes attracting a skilled workforce and improving working conditions for various groups. 

    Strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and boosting entrepreneurship are key priorities. This includes enhancing SME capacities, supporting social entrepreneurship, and promoting innovative business models. Activities may focus on creating advisory systems for start-ups, spin-offs, and incubators, fostering business networks, and improving the competitiveness of SMEs through knowledge and technology transfer, digital transformation, and sustainable business practices. 

    This topic focuses on fostering community integration and strengthening a common identity by promoting social cohesion, positive relations, and the development of shared spaces and services. It supports initiatives that enhance intercultural understanding and cooperation between different societal groups. 

    Demographic change and migration address key societal challenges, such as an aging population, active aging, and silver economy strategies. It also includes adapting public services and infrastructure to demographic shifts, tackling social and spatial segregation, and addressing brain drain. Migration-related actions cover policy development, strategic planning, and the integration of migrants to create inclusive and resilient communities. 

    All projects where ICT has a significant role, including tailor-made ICT solutions in different fields, as well as digital innovation hubs, open data, Internet of Things; ICT access and connecting (remote) areas with digital infrastructure and services; services and applications for citizens (e-health, e-government, e-learning, e-inclusion, etc.); services and applications for companies (e-commerce, networking, digital transformation, etc.).

    This is about the mitigation and management of risks and disasters, and the anticipation and response capacity towards the actors regarding specific risks and management of natural disasters, for example, prevention of flood and drought hazards, forest fire, strong weather conditions, etc.. It is also about risk assessment and safety.

    This topic focuses on enhancing education, training, and opportunities for children, youth, and adults. It covers the expansion of educational access, reduction of barriers to education, and improvement of higher education and lifelong learning. It also includes vocational education, common learning programs, and initiatives supporting labour mobility and educational networks. Additionally, it addresses the promotion of media literacy, digital learning tools, and the development of innovative educational approaches to strengthen knowledge, skills, and societal participation. 

    This topic emphasizes the role of culture and media in education and social development. It supports initiatives that foster creativity, cultural awareness, and artistic expression among children and youth. Activities include promoting cross-border cooperation in the audiovisual sector, enhancing digital content creation skills, and boosting the distribution of educational and cultural media products. Furthermore, it encourages the development of media literacy initiatives, helping young audiences critically engage with digital and media content. By connecting education, creativity, and media, this topic strengthens cultural identity and supports inclusive, knowledge-based societies. 

    This topic covers actions aimed at improving energy efficiency and promoting the use of renewable energy sources. It includes energy management, energy-saving methods, and evaluating energy efficiency measures. Projects may focus on the energy rehabilitation and efficiency of buildings and public infrastructure, as well as promoting energy efficiency through cooperation among experienced firms, institutions, and local administrations. 

    In the field of renewable energy, this encompasses the development and expansion of wind, solar, biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal, and other sustainable energy sources. Activities include increasing renewable energy production, enhancing research capacities, and developing innovative technologies for energy storage and management. Projects may also address sustainable regional bioenergy policies, financial instruments for renewable energy investments, and the establishment of cooperative frameworks for advancing renewable energy initiatives. 

    This topic focuses on promoting equal rights and strengthening social inclusion, particularly for marginalized and vulnerable groups. It covers activities enhancing the capacity and participation of children, young people, women, elderly people, and socially excluded groups. Activities can address the creation of inclusive infrastructure, improving access and opportunities for people with disabilities, and fostering social cohesion through innovative care services. It also includes initiatives supporting victims of gender-based violence, promoting human rights, and developing policies and tools for social integration and equal participation in society. 

    This area focuses on improving health and social services, enhancing accessibility and efficiency for diverse groups such as the elderly, children, and people with disabilities. It includes the development of new healthcare models, innovative medical diagnostics and treatments (e.g., dementia, cancer, diabetes), and the management of hospitals and care facilities. Additionally, activities addressing rare diseases, promoting overall wellbeing, and fostering preventive health measures fall under this theme. It also covers sports promotion, encouraging physical activity as a means to improve public health and social inclusion. 

    This area focuses on strengthening justice, safety, and security through cross-border cooperation and institutional capacity-building. It includes initiatives aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of police, fire, and rescue services, enhancing civil protection systems, and rapid response capabilities for emergencies like chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incidents. Activities also target the prevention and combatting of organized crime, drug-related crimes, and human trafficking, as well as ensuring secure and efficient border management. Furthermore, it covers initiatives promoting the protection of citizens, community safety, and the development of innovative security services and technologies. 

    This area focuses on the development and improvement of transport and mobility systems, covering all modes of transport, including urban mobility and public transportation. Actions aiming at improving transport connections through traffic and transport planning, rehabilitation and modernisation of infrastructure, better connectivity, and enhanced accessibility. Projects promoting multimodal transport and logistics, optimising intermodal transport chains, offering sustainable and efficient logistics solutions, and developing multimodal mobility strategies. Also, initiatives establishing cooperation among logistic centres and providing access to clean, efficient, and multimodal transport corridors and hubs. 

    Activities focusing on the sustainable development and strategic planning of urban, regional, and rural areas. This includes urban development such as city planning, urban renewal, and strengthening urban-rural links through climate adaptation, sustainable mobility, water efficiency, participatory processes, smart cities, and the regeneration of public urban spaces. Regional planning and development cover the implementation of regional policies and programmes, sustainable land use management plans, integrated regional action plans, spatial planning, and the efficient management of marine protected areas. Rural and peripheral development addresses the challenges of remote and sparsely populated areas by fostering rural community development, enhancing rural economies, improving access to remote regions, and promoting tailored policies for rural sustainability and growth. 

    Keyword search
Apply selection

Filter Search for grants

back to the overview

Call key data

Preventing and fighting illicit trafficking of cultural goods

Funding Program

Horizon Europe: Cluster 2 - Culture, Creativity and Inclusive society

Call number

HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-HERITAGE-07

deadlines

Opening
12.05.2026

Deadline
23.09.2026 17:00

Funding rate

100%

Call budget

€ 5,000,000.00

Estimated EU contribution per project

€ 4,500,000.00 - 5,000,000.00

Link to the call

ec.europa.eu

Link to the submission

ec.europa.eu

Call content

short description

Trafficking in cultural goods is a serious crime that poses significant threats to cultural heritage, particularly in conflict and crisis areas. This illicit trade involves the illegal import, export, and transfer of ownership of valuable cultural items, including theft from institutions and private collections, looting of archaeological sites, assets laundering and forgery of cultural goods. At the EU level, combatting cultural goods’ trafficking is supported by the EU Security Union Strategy 2020-2025, the EU Strategy to Tackle Organised Crime 2021-2025, the EU action plan against trafficking in cultural goods and the related Council Conclusions, the EU Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (EU-SOCTA). Cultural goods’ trafficking is a highly specialised criminal market.

Call objectives

The criminals range from specialised criminal networks to corrupt dealers or expert dark web traders. Criminal networks and actors active in the area of cultural goods trafficking are characterised by a high degree of expertise and specialised knowledge. To overtake the challenges there is the necessity to use advanced analytics, including machine learning and AI technologies, in order to curate, process and share large volumes of dynamic interoperable and high-quality data and transforming it into meaningful intelligence. By facilitating data exchange across borders and between stakeholders, it would ensure real-time access to relevant information, enhancing collaboration and coordination.

Proposals should strongly build on existing expertise and developments, focusing on (1) developing a cohesive ecosystem to be promoted among LEAs, with integrations and operational interfaces between existing tools, systems (including LEA systems) and the solutions developed to trace, protect, safeguard and repatriate goods, including methodologies for combating crimes through data and network analysis; (2) fostering the utilisation of the aforementioned systems by LEA and push them forward to market readiness level to ensure their effective impact on combating illicit trafficking cases; (3) strengthening the collaboration between the different stakeholders providing effective tools and actionable and standardized training materials for boosting capacity in cataloguing and provenance information analysis; (4) improving data quality, robust data governance and data interoperability across stakeholders and cross borders, improving LEA access to critical databases; (5) provide support to evidence collection thanks to the analysis and interpolation of different sources of information and open source and geospatial intelligence.

Proposals should design and consolidate the solution space, tools and the training ecosystem to demonstrate real uptake and adoption and ensure they reflect the priorities of diverse personas, including law enforcement authorities, customs officials, police authorities, cultural heritage professionals, policymakers and citizens. The training ecosystem should build on the results and findings of relevant national and EU-funded projects, such as for example OPFA-CULT, in order to leverage existing knowledge and avoid duplication of effort. The development of these materials should be integrated with existing EU and international legal frameworks and measures on the trafficking of cultural goods, including those applicable beyond EU borders. For police authorities’ training-related aspects, cooperation of successful proposals with CEPOL is expected, provided that the Agency opts out from applying for funding.

The proposals should build on the achievements and findings of related previous national and EU-funded projects as well as create complementarities or synergies with projects and European research infrastructures in the field, such as, for example the ones funded under Horizon Europe Cluster 2 and Cluster 3, ERC, the Internal Security Fund (ISF), Creative Europe, the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), the European research infrastructure for heritage science (E-RIHS). Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation for Security (CERIS) 18 activities and/or other international events.

Proposals are encouraged to seek synergies, and collaboration, with relevant initiatives already developed from international stakeholders working in the field of cultural heritage as well as in the security sector. The creation of new tools and the duplication of existing ones should be avoided; instead, priority should be given to leveraging opportunities for consolidation and maximizing impact. of existing tools and resources.

Scientists and practitioners doing research in the field of Cultural Heritage (such as archaeologists, museologists, art historians or related fields) must have an essential role in the production of the outputs assuring that they efficiently take into account the real needs and problems of the field, as well as in ensuring scientific quality of information and data.

Proposals are encouraged to actively collaborate, create synergies and developments with the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH) and the Europol Innovation Lab during the lifetime of the project, including validating the outcomes, with the aim of facilitating future uptake of innovations for the law enforcement community. Proposals should ensure alignment on the formats and standards used to exchange interoperable high-quality data with the Cultural Heritage Cloud.

Beneficiaries may plan their activities opting to provide Financial Support to Third Parties in order to support practitioners (such as Police Authorities, Non-Governmental Organisations/Civil Society Organisations, cultural and creative industries [CCIs], research groups and communities of practitioners in the field of Cultural Heritage) for expanding the proposed work in terms of, for instance, additional user groups and needs, complementary assessments, technology- or methodology-testing activities.

Proposals funded under this topic are expected to actively develop, configure and implement a long-term sustainable governance and cooperation framework which will ensure long term engagement beyond the duration of the funding. Particular emphasis should be placed on the co-creation of a detailed, realistic, and jointly agreed roadmap and validated business model to ensure functionality after the project ends. The model needs to be already validated and operational before the end of the funded project. The scope of the research should include under-studied regions, zones in conflict areas and under environmental disasters, considering existing initiatives, for example the Recommendation on Safeguarding Cultural Heritage in Ukraine.

read more

Expected results

Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

  • Increased evidence collection and intelligence gathering, effective cross-border and cross-domain cooperation and uptake by the Law Enforcement Authorities (LEA) and experts of the consolidated tools and platforms within their operational systems and methodologies in accordance with the different user’s requirements.
  • Capacity building and consolidated training ecosystem, developed with concrete, validated, actionable, interactive training materials tailored to the specific needs of different user groups across EU Member States and beyond.
  • European Union law enforcement, judiciary and other competent authorities and practitioners gain a better understanding and enhanced capabilities in addressing crimes related to cultural heritage thanks to the consolidations of existing solutions, standardized and tailored trainings and workshops and practical learning materials.
  • Actionable solutions to the threat to cultural heritage trafficking by illicit excavations crime that do not necessarily amount to organised crime but are still illegal activities that considerably endanger Europe’s cultural heritage, as well as cultural heritage in third countries.
  • A robust and long-term sustainable support framework and plan which will ensure and make operational a long-term cooperation in the prevention and fight of illicit trafficking of cultural goods.

read more

Eligibility Criteria

Regions / countries for funding

Candidate Countries, EU Member States, Eastern Partnership, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)
Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Liechtenstein, Morocco (المغرب), Norway (Norge), Switzerland (Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), United Kingdom

eligible entities

EU Body, Education and training institution, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)

Mandatory partnership

Yes

Project Partnership

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:

  • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions;
  • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States;
  • countries associated to Horizon Europe; Albania, Arab Republic of Egypt, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Korea, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom;
  • the following low- and middle-income countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic), Congo (Republic), Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt (Arab Republic), El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic), Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea (Democratic People's Republic), Kyrgyz Republic, Lao (People’s Democratic Republic), Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia (Federated States), Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic), Vietnam, Yemen Republic, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Legal entities which are established in countries not listed above will be eligible for funding if provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.

Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call/topic.

A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.

Unless otherwise provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:

  • at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
  • at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.

As affiliated entities do not sign the grant agreement, they do not count towards the minimum eligibility criteria for consortium composition (if any).

Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.

Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in non associated third countries may exceptionally participate in this Coordination and Support Action as a beneficiary or affiliated entity and are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.

This topic requires the involvement, as beneficiaries, of: 

  • at least three security practitioner organisations or agencies established in at least three different EU Member States or Associated Countries, and 
  • at least two scientific research institutions working on illicit trafficking in the specific field of Cultural Heritage.
For participants with practitioner status, applicants must fill in the table “Information about security practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).

other eligibility criteria

Specific cases

Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.

Associated partners — Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions) are allowed, subject to any specific call/topic conditions.

Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons.

EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.

International organisations — International European research organisations are eligible to receive funding. International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country are eligible to receive funding for ‘Training and mobility’ actions or when provided for in the specific call/topic conditions. Other international organisations are not eligible to receive funding, unless provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.

Joint Research Centre (‘JRC’) — Where provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, applicants may include in their proposals the possible contribution of the JRC, but the JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. Applicants will indicate the contribution that the JRC could bring to the project based on the scope of the topic text. After the evaluation process, the JRC and the consortium selected for funding may come to an agreement on the specific terms of the participation of the JRC. If an agreement is found, the JRC may accede to the grant agreement as beneficiary requesting zero funding or participate as an associated partner, and would accede to the consortium as a member.

Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members (e.g. European research infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. However, if the action is in practice implemented by the individual members, those members should also participate either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities (otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible).

EU restrictive measures — Entities subject to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) as well as Article 75 TFEU, are not eligible to participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any).

Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine — Given the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the involvement of Belarus, there is currently no appropriate context allowing the implementation of the actions foreseen in this programme with legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine. Therefore, even where such entities are not subject to EU restrictive measures, such legal entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity. This includes participation as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any). Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis for justified reasons.

With specific regard to measures addressed to Russia, following the adoption of the Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1745 of 24 June 2024 (amending Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014) concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, legal entities established outside Russia whose proprietary rights are directly or indirectly owned for more than 50% by a legal person, entity or body established in Russia are also not eligible to participate in any capacity.

Measures for the protection of the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary — Following the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506, as of 16 December 2022, no legal commitments can be entered into with Hungarian public interest trusts established under the Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity they maintain. Affected entities may continue to apply to calls for proposals and can participate without receiving EU funding, as associated partners, if allowed by the call conditions. However, as long as the Council measures are not lifted, such entities are not eligible to participate in any funded role (beneficiaries, affiliated entities, subcontractors, recipients of financial support to third parties, etc.). In the case of multi-beneficiary grant calls, applicants will be invited to remove or replace that entity in any funded role and/or to change its status into associated partner. Tasks and budget may be redistributed accordingly.

Additional information

Topics

Arts & Culture, Cultural Heritage, Tourism, 
Justice, Safety & Security

Relevance for EU Macro-Region

EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region

UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)

Additional Information

Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.

Applications must be submitted using the forms provided inside the electronic submission system (not the templates available on the topic page, which are only for information). The structure and presentation must correspond to the instructions given in the forms.

Applications must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents.

Applications must include a plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results including communication activities, unless provided otherwise in the specific call/topic conditions. The plan is not required for applications at the first stage of two-stage procedures. If the expected exploitation of the results entails developing, creating, manufacturing and marketing a product or process, or in creating and providing a service, the plan must include a strategy for such exploitation. If the plan provides for exploitation of the results primarily in non-associated third countries, the applicants must explain how that exploitation is to be considered in the EU’s interest.

The application form will have two parts:

  • Part A (to be filled in directly online) contains administrative information about the applicant organisations (future coordinator and beneficiaries and affiliated entities), the summarised budget for the proposal and call-specific questions;
  • Part B (to be downloaded from the Portal submission system, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as a PDF in the system) contains the technical description of the project.

Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system).

The limit for a full application (Part B) is 25 pages.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and  Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025).

Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties up to 15% of the EU funding. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.

Call documents

Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 Cluster 2 Culture, Creativity and Inclusive SocietyHorizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 Cluster 2 Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society(1495kB)

Contact

National Contact Points for Horizon Europe
Website

back to the overview