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  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.

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    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.

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  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. 

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    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.

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    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. 

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    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. 

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    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. 

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    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. 

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    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. 

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Call key data

Integrated Surveillance mechanism: Regional Cable hubs

Funding Program

Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions (PPPAs)

Call number

PPPA-2026-REGIONAL-SUBMARINE-ISM-CABLE-HUBS

deadlines

Opening
14.07.2026

Deadline
08.10.2026 17:00

Funding rate

50%

Call budget

€ 3,940,000.00

Estimated EU contribution per project

€ 3,940,000.00

Link to the call

ec.europa.eu

Link to the submission

ec.europa.eu

Call content

short description

The Pilot Project aims, through analytical work and targeted pilot activities in non-operational settings, to determine how private-sector situational data relevant to submarine-cable security could support the functioning of Regional Cable Hubs, as envisaged under the EU Action Plan on Cable Security and currently under implementation at Union level (established under the Digital Europe Programme (DEP) Call 9).

Call objectives

Submarine communication cables constitute a fundamental component of the electronic communications infrastructure covered by the NIS2 Directive and are widely recognized by Member States as strategically important and highly sensitive assets. The EU Action Plan on Cable Security underscores their growing exposure  to physical, environmental and hybrid threats, and calls for strengthened monitoring, resilience and information-xchange mechanisms.

A significant share of submarine cable infrastructure and related operational data is mostly owned, operated or managed by private, EU, non-EU or globally active entities, and may fall under different national legal or security regimes. Despite these constraints, there is a shared interest in enhancing the protection and resilience of submarine cables against a broad range of threats.

The situational data that could contribute to improved awareness of threats to submarine cables (e.g. sensor feeds, maritime or satellite surveillance data) are subject to complex and heterogeneous governance conditions. These conditions may vary across cable systems, operators and sea basins, reflecting differing ownership structures, contractual arrangements and applicable regulatory or security frameworks. As a result, there is currently limited clarity on how such data could be accessed, combined and used in a structured manner to support cable-security objectives.

In view of the preparatory nature of the action, proposals are encouraged to build on relevant experience and capacities developed in related Union initiatives on submarine cable security, including by entities involved in the establishment of Regional Cable Hubs.

The Pilot Project will combine interaction with the range of concerned private actors related to cable security and analysis with small-scale pilots to explore the full process of accessing and using such data:

  • Map the landscape of situational data held by private actors relevant to submarine-cable security, sources and type of such data (cable-related telemetry, sensor feeds, satellite and maritime-surveillance data, underwater-drone outputs and other emerging modalities); identify their technical characteristics (e.g. real-time, proprietary formats, latency, frequency), ownership, confidentiality profile, availability, usage patterns and the legal, contractual, security or other applicable constraints governing their access.
  • Assess the feasibility of accessing and integrating such data into a Regional Cable Hub, by first examining the commercial, organisational, regulatory and security conditions under which private actors could interface with Cable Hubs, and then analysing the technical implications of such cooperation, including the requirements for data ingestion (such as APIs, gateways, pipelines, authentication and security controls) and the maturity and limitations of existing commercial or open platforms that could support this integration and subsequent data fusion.
  • Analyse interoperability and data fusion challenges across multiple providers, diverse data sources and different sea basins, including whether harmonisation of formats, frequencies and semantics is needed; the potential role of common data models, taxonomies or ontologies; the feasibility of using interoperability and fusion layers; and how these approaches could remain future-proof in light of evolving sensors and emerging sources of data; and finally how interoperable data can be fused to generate coherent situational awareness.
  • Assess the quality and limitations of the situational awareness generated from these data sources. Determine the realistic contribution that private-sector monitoring and situational data can make to submarine-cable security by evaluating the spatial precision, timeliness, coverage, reliability and confidence that can be achieved when such data is combined within a Regional Cable Hub, while also identifying the technical, regulatory and commercial limitations that constrain the level of situational awareness attainable under different data-access and integration scenarios.
  • Design and carry out pilot or proof-of-concept demonstrations (e.g. using sample datasets, synthetic data or sandbox integrations with selected providers) to test and validate key assumptions on data access, integration, interoperability and situational-awareness outputs, and to refine the practical feasibility of the proposed cooperation models.
  • Produce a consolidated assessment of feasible partnership models between Regional Cable Hubs and private holders of cable-relevant monitoring and situational data, setting out the key commercial, contractual, technical and regulatory requirements for such arrangements, evaluate the extent to which they can enhance the situational awareness achievable for submarine-cable security, and identify gaps where further EU-level policy guidance, standardisation or supporting measures may be needed.

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Expected results

  • A consolidated reference on private situational data relevant for submarine-cable security
    A structured description of the main categories of private situational data and actors relevant for submarine-cable security, including their sensitivity profile, typical usage, and the key legal, regulatory and commercial constraints affecting possible access by Regional Cable Hubs.
  • Interoperability and data fusion pathways for multi-source, multi-basin use
    Clear conclusions on the main interoperability and data fusion challenges and feasible solutions (e.g. common data models or ontologies, interoperability layers, translation and fusion layers), including indications on which approaches are realistically applicable across multiple providers and sea basins, and how they can remain extensible to accommodate new data sources and actors over time.
  • A proof-of-concept demonstration showing how selected private situational data can be accessed, integrated and processed within a Regional Cable Hub–type environment, together with a practical demonstration of the situational-awareness outcomes that such integration can produce. This includes evidence on the achievable levels of spatial precision, timeliness, coverage and reliability under pilot conditions, as well as identification of the constraints that limit performance.
  • Partnership models and recommendations for EU follow-up
    A concise set of partnership models through which Regional Cable Hubs could obtain or use private situational data (e.g. service-based, data-sharing, or hybrid arrangements), with associated requirements for their viability and compliance, an assessment of their expected impact and limitations on situational awareness, and recommendations for possible EU-level guidance, support measures or follow-up actions.

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Eligibility Criteria

Regions / countries for funding

EU Member States, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)
Iceland (Ísland), Liechtenstein, Norway (Norge)

eligible entities

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

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

  • be legal entities (public or private bodies)
  • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
    • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
    • EEA countries (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein)

Given the security-sensitive nature of the action, participation shall be further restricted, in accordance with Article 136 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, to exclude legal entities controlled by a third country other than a Member State or an EEA country (including those established in the eligible countries listed above but controlled by a third country or by a third-country legal entity). Control’ means the possibility to exercise decisive influence on the participant, directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediate entities, ‘de jure’ or ‘de facto’. This includes not only ownership of more than 50% (shareholding), but also any other elements and/or rights that can amount to control.

Therefore, entities must not be directly or indirectly controlled from a country that is not an eligible country. All entities will have to fill in and submit a declaration on ownership and control.

Proposals must be submitted by a consortium composed of at least two Member States, represented by competent public authorities such as ministries, agencies or other public entities responsible for cable security, maritime security, resilience, or the protection of critical infrastructure. The involvement of a larger number of Member States is preferable. As well as that other relevant public or private partners may also participate in the consortium to support the Hub’s technical and operational implementation.

other eligibility criteria

Specific cases

Natural persons — Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of self-employed persons, i.e. sole traders, where the company does not have legal personality separate from that of the natural person).

International organisations — International organisations are NOT eligible.

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 for the protection of the EU financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal persons.

EU bodies — EU bodies (with the exception of the European Commission Joint Research Centre) can NOT be part of the consortium.

Affiliated entities - Legal entities having a legal or capital link with applicants, which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation, may take part in the action as affiliated entities, and may declare eligible costs as specified in section 10. For that purpose, applicants shall identify such affiliated entities in the proposal and application form.

Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. Please note that if the action will be implemented by the members, they should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible).

EU restrictive measures — Special rules apply for 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). Such entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any).

EU conditionality measures — Special rules apply for entities subject to measures adopted on the basis of EU Regulation 2020/2092. Such entities are not eligible to participate in any funded role (beneficiaries, affiliated entities, subcontractors, recipients of financial support to third parties, etc). Currently such measures are in place for Hungarian public interest trusts established under the Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity they maintain (see Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506, as of 16 December 2022). The indicative list of affected entities (the trusts and the entities they maintain) is available under this link. This link will bring you to the official Annex to Hungarian Act IX of 2021.

Additional information

Topics

Digitalisation, Digital Society, ICT, 
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)

project duration

18 months

Additional Information

Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System (accessible via the Topic page in the Calls for proposals section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.

Proposals (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the forms provided inside the Submission System (NOT the documents available on the Topic page — they are only for information).

Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required annexes and supporting documents:

  • Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the participants (future coordinator, beneficiaries and affiliated entities) and the summarised budget for the project (to be filled in directly online)
  • Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project (template to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed, assembled and re-uploaded)
  • mandatory annexes and supporting documents (templates to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed, assembled and re-uploaded):
    • detailed budget table/calculator
    • list of previous projects (key projects for the last 4 years (template available in Part B)
    • ownership control declarations (including for associated partners, affiliated entities and subcontractors)

Proposals are limited to maximum 70 pages (Part B). 

Call documents

Call Document PPPA-2026-REGIONAL-SUBMARINE-ISMCall Document PPPA-2026-REGIONAL-SUBMARINE-ISM(541kB)

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