Integrated Surveillance mechanism: Regional Cable hubs

This Pilot Project and Preparatory Action call PPPA-2026 aims to determine how private-sector situational data can support Regional Cable Hubs by mapping data landscapes, assessing integration and interoperability, and demonstrating proof-of-concept pilots. Eligible consortia must include competent public authorities from at least two EU Member States, with additional public or private partners allowed to provide technical and operational support. The topic budget is €3,940,000 with EU co-financing up to 50 percent, an indicative duration of 18 months, and one project expected to be funded. Applications must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal using the prescribed Part A and Part B templates and annexes by 8 October 2026 at 17:00 CEST.

Call at a glance

Essential facts

Pilot project call to analyse, map and pilot the access, interoperability and fusion of private situational data (sensor feeds, maritime and satellite surveillance, telemetry, underwater drone outputs and similar) to support Regional Cable Hubs for submarine‑cable security. Activities combine analytical work, legal/regulatory/commercial assessment and small-scale proof-of-concept pilots in non-operational settings.

Who can apply:Consortia of at least two EU Member States represented by competent public authorities (ministries, agencies or other public entities responsible for cable/maritime security or critical infrastructure), with additional public or private partners allowed; participants must be legal entities established in EU Member States or EEA and not controlled by third countries ¹.

What is funded:Preparatory analytical work (data landscape, governance and access constraints), technical feasibility and interoperability analysis, design of data‑fusion approaches, pilot/sandbox proof‑of‑concept demonstrations and recommendations on partnership models and EU follow-up.

How much and funding rules:Topic budget €3,940,000 expected to fund one project. EU co‑financing up to 50% of eligible costs. Grant is a budget-based mixed actual-cost action (detailed budget, unit costs and flat-rates rules apply).

Key dates & duration:Call opening (planned) 14 July 2026. Submission deadline 8 October 2026 (17:00 CEST). Indicative project start March–April 2027. Indicative duration 18 months.

1. 1Map private situational data sources, ownership, formats, sensitivity and access constraints
2. 2Assess commercial, regulatory and security feasibility of integrating private data into Regional Cable Hubs and technical ingestion requirements
3. 3Analyse interoperability and data-fusion approaches (common models, ontologies, translators, fusion layers) across providers and sea basins
4. 4Pilot proof-of-concept integrations or sandboxes to demonstrate achievable spatial precision, timeliness, coverage and reliability under pilot conditions
5. 5Produce partnership models, viability/compliance requirements and recommendations for possible EU-level guidance or follow-up

Proposals must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using the Application Form templates and comply with ownership/control restrictions and security requirements; consortium composition, admissibility, eligibility and evaluation rules are set in the call document ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Full call documentation, templates and legal conditions are available on the topic page of the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Call topic page.

Opportunity snapshot

Call type:Call for proposals — Pilot projects and preparatory actions (PPPA Project Grants). Opening date (planned): 14 July 2026. Deadline: 8 October 2026, 17:00 CEST. Expected project duration: indicative 18 months (extensions possible). Number of projects expected to be funded: 1. Total available budget for the topic: €3,940,000. EU co-financing rate: 50% of total eligible costs. Submission channel: Funding & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (single-stage submission).

Primary objective:Determine how private-sector situational data relevant to submarine-cable security could support Regional Cable Hubs through analytical work and targeted non-operational pilots, producing a consolidated data reference, interoperability and data fusion recommendations, proof-of-concept demonstrators, and partnership models with policy follow-up recommendations ¹.

Detailed eligibility and participation rules

Legal and geographic eligibility, ownership and control restrictions, consortium composition and participant roles are governed by the Call Document and the PPPA Model Grant Agreement. Proposals must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The call is implemented under EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 and the 2026 PPPA Financing Decision.

1. 1Eligible applicant types: legal entities (public or private bodies) established in EU Member States (including OCTs) and EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein). International organisations are not eligible. Natural persons are not eligible except self-employed where the company has no separate legal personality. EU bodies (except JRC) cannot be part of the consortium.
2. 2Control and ownership restrictions: Due to security sensitivity, participation is restricted to entities not controlled by a third country (non-eligible third-country control). 'Control' covers direct or indirect decisive influence including >50% ownership or equivalent de facto control. All participants must submit ownership and control declarations.
3. 3Consortium requirement: Multi-beneficiary required. Minimum composition: consortium of at least two Member States represented by competent public authorities (ministries, agencies or public entities responsible for cable security, maritime security, resilience or critical infrastructure protection). Involvement of more Member States is preferred. Relevant public and private partners can participate to support technical and operational implementation.
4. 4Affiliated entities and associated partners: Allowed. Affiliated entities (legal/capital link) may declare eligible costs; they are validated and included in Annex 2. Associated partners may participate without receiving EU funds; their costs are not eligible.
5. 5Geographic location of activities: Activities should normally take place in EU waters or airspace of eligible countries; may extend into neighbouring or international areas if necessary for implementation.
6. 6Security and classified information: Projects involving EU classified information require security scrutiny, possible facility security clearances and adherence to specific SAL (security aspects letter) rules. Certain classification levels (TRES SECRET UE/EU TOP SECRET) cannot be funded.
7. 7Ethics: Projects must comply with the highest ethical standards and applicable EU, international and national law.
8. 8Financial and operational capacity: Applicants must demonstrate stable and sufficient financial resources and appropriate operational capacity. Public bodies are typically exempt from financial capacity checks; otherwise financial statements or auditor reports may be requested.

Scope, activities and expected results

The Pilot Project combines engagement with private actors holding situational data relevant to submarine-cable security, analytical mapping, technical assessments, interoperability analysis and small-scale pilot demonstrations in non-operational settings. The action is preparatory: it should build on existing Union initiatives and experience in submarine cable security, including entities involved in establishing Regional Cable Hubs.

1. 1Map the landscape of private situational data: types (cable telemetry, sensor feeds, maritime and satellite surveillance, underwater drone outputs, other modalities), technical characteristics (real-time, proprietary formats, latency, frequency), ownership, confidentiality profiles, availability, usage patterns, and legal, contractual, security constraints affecting access.
2. 2Assess feasibility of access and integration: analyse commercial, organisational, regulatory and security conditions for private actors to interface with Regional Cable Hubs; specify data ingestion requirements (APIs, gateways, pipelines, authentication, security controls); evaluate maturity and limitations of commercial/open platforms for integration and fusion.
3. 3Analyse interoperability and data fusion challenges: evaluate need for harmonisation (formats, frequencies, semantics), role of common data models, taxonomies or ontologies, feasibility of interoperability/fusion layers, and strategies to keep solutions extensible across providers and sea basins.
4. 4Assess situational awareness quality and limits: quantify achievable spatial precision, timeliness, coverage, reliability and confidence under pilot conditions; identify technical, regulatory and commercial constraints limiting performance.
5. 5Design and run pilot proof-of-concept demonstrations: test accessing, integrating and processing selected private datasets (sample, synthetic or sandbox integrations) in a Regional Cable Hub-type environment and demonstrate situational-awareness outcomes.
6. 6Produce partnership models and EU-level recommendations: define service-based, data-sharing or hybrid arrangements, list commercial, contractual, technical and regulatory requirements, assess expected impact/limitations on situational awareness, and recommend EU guidance, standardisation or supporting measures.

Target sectors, project stage and technologies

1. 1Target sectors: cyber-physical infrastructure security, maritime surveillance, critical communications infrastructure, data interoperability and fusion, satellite/remote sensing, underwater robotics/UUVs, data platforms and security operations centres.
2. 2Thematic sectors (classification): energy/communications infrastructure (submarine cables), ICT, cybersecurity, space (satellite data integration), transport/maritime, environment (maritime domain awareness), DeepTech (sensor fusion), innovation policy and standards development.
3. 3Expected project stage: research/analysis through to prototyping/proof-of-concept and demonstration in non-operational sandbox environments. Emphasis on preparatory analysis, interoperability approach design, and small-scale pilots/demonstrators rather than operational deployment.

Funding, financial conditions and budget

Total topic budget:€3,940,000. Expected number of grants: 1. EU contributes up to 50% of eligible costs. The grant will be budget-based (mixed actual cost grant) with unit-cost/flat-rate elements possible where specified in Annex 2/2a and the PPPA MGA. The form of grant is action grant (budget-based).

Co-funding requirement:Yes. The EU co-finances up to 50% of the total eligible costs. Applicants must therefore provide at least 50% of the eligible costs from their own funds or other non-EU sources. The proposal must show a balanced project budget and stable resources to implement the project; pre-financing guarantees may be requested depending on financial capacity.

Application and evaluation process

1. 1Application type: Open single-stage call via the Funding & Tenders Portal; proposals submitted online only using Portal forms (Part A online, Part B template uploaded as PDF, mandatory annexes uploaded).
2. 2Page limits: Part B limited to a maximum of 70 pages. Templates and forms are available in the Submission System (not the Topic page documents).
3. 3Submission steps: register organisation and obtain PIC via Participant Register; complete Part A online; download, complete and upload Part B PDF and annexes; submit before deadline. Confirmation email issued after successful submission.
4. 4Evaluation procedure: single-stage, one-step evaluation. Admissibility and eligibility checks followed by evaluation on financial/operational capacity and award criteria by an evaluation committee assisted by external experts.
5. 5Award criteria and weights: Relevance 40 points, Quality 40 points, Impact 20 points; individual thresholds 21/40, 21/40, 11/20 respectively; overall pass threshold 60/100. Ex aequo ranking rules prioritise Relevance then Impact then Quality.
6. 6Timetable: Call opening planned 14 July 2026; deadline 8 October 2026 (17:00 CEST); evaluation Oct-Nov 2026; information Nov-Dec 2026; Grant Agreement signature February 2027; project start March–April 2027.

Application structure and templates

Applicants must use the submission system templates available inside the Funding & Tenders Portal Submission System. Mandatory elements include: Application Form Part A (administrative data and summarised budget completed online), Application Form Part B (technical description — download mandatory template from Submission System, complete and re-upload as PDF), and mandatory annexes (detailed budget table/calculator, list of previous projects for the last 4 years, ownership and control declarations for beneficiaries and affiliated entities, and other templates provided in the Submission System). Proposals must confirm mandate to act for all applicants and will require a declaration of honour at submission and again before grant signature. Shorter proposals than the page limit are acceptable.

Suggested Part B structure (based on Call Document guidance):Part B must follow the Portal template. Applicants should ensure Part B addresses: 1) Relevance: objectives, linkage to call priorities and EU Cable Security Action Plan, geographic scope and cross-border benefit; 2) Quality: methodology, work plan, technical approach for data mapping, ingestion, interoperability and fusion, pilot design, risk and security management, consortium roles and internal management; 3) Impact: expected situational-awareness improvements, KPIs (precision, timeliness, coverage, reliability), dissemination and sustainability strategy, follow-up actions and policy recommendations. Include detailed Gantt/timeline, deliverables and milestones, resource allocation and cost-effectiveness justification. Provide list of key previous projects and CVs where requested in Portal templates.

Selection, compliance and contractual provisions

1. 1Selection and checks: After positive evaluation, invited proposals enter grant preparation where legal entity validation, financial capacity assessment, exclusion checks and ownership/control verification will be performed. Prefinancing guarantees, adjusted pre-financing or staged payments may be required depending on financial capacity.
2. 2Form of grant: Budget-based mixed actual cost grant with eligible cost categories A (personnel), B (subcontracting), C (purchases including travel and equipment), D (other) and E (indirect costs). Indirect costs are reimbursed at a flat-rate of 7% of eligible direct costs (A-D except volunteers and exempt categories). Financial support to third parties is NOT allowed under this call topic.
3. 3Subcontracting rules: Subcontracting is allowed but core tasks must remain within consortium; subcontracting beyond 30% of total eligible costs must be justified in the application. Subcontracted activities must take place in eligible countries.
4. 4Reporting and payments: Prefinancing normally 50% of maximum grant amount (subject to financial capacity and guarantee), interim payments up to 30% and final payment after approval of final report. Prefinancing and interim payments may not exceed 80% of maximum grant amount overall.
5. 5Liability and recoveries: The Grant Agreement sets the liability regime. No-profit rule applies: grants must not produce profit. Beneficiaries must keep records for at least 5 years and may be subject to audits by Commission, OLAF, ECA and other bodies.

Who should apply and consortium composition

Primary applicants:competent public authorities from at least two EU Member States (ministries, agencies or public entities responsible for cable security, maritime security, resilience or critical infrastructure protection). Recommended participants to include: national/regional maritime authorities, national cybersecurity or telecom regulators, coastal port authorities, operators of submarine cable systems (private sector), cable operators or consortiums, maritime surveillance providers, satellite data providers, commercial data platform providers, academic and research organisations with expertise in maritime domain awareness, data fusion, sensor integration, semantic modelling and ontologies, and providers of underwater robotics or sensing.

1. 1Roles expected within consortium: Lead coordinator (public authority), technical lead(s) for data engineering and platform integration, legal/compliance partner for data governance and contracts, private sector data providers/operators for dataset access and sandbox agreements, pilot demonstrator hosts (research institutes/universities or platforms), and policy/standards advisors.

Target outcomes and evaluation metrics

Expected tangible outcomes include:consolidated reference on private situational data relevant for submarine-cable security; clear interoperability and data fusion pathways (including suggested common data models or ontologies and interoperability layers); at least one proof-of-concept demonstrator that integrates selected private situational datasets into a Regional Cable Hub-type environment; evidence on situational-awareness metrics under pilot conditions (spatial precision, timeliness, coverage, reliability); and a concise set of partnership models and EU-level recommendations for follow-up, standardisation or support measures.

1. 1Suggested KPIs to include in proposal: achievable spatial precision (meters for near-shore versus km for wider basins), data latency and timeliness (seconds/minutes/hours), effective coverage (percentage of cable length or zones with data coverage), data reliability/accuracy indicators, fusion confidence scores, number and type of providers engaged, number of prototype integrations completed, and clear legal/commercial models described.

Administrative and support information

Submission is electronic only; paper submissions are not accepted. Mandatory registration in Participant Register (PIC). For support contact: CNECT-PPPA-2026-REGIONAL-SUBMARINE-ISM@ec.europa.eu. Consult the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual and Model Grant Agreement (PPPA MGA) for templates and detailed contractual clauses. Applicants are strongly advised to read the Call Document, the Portal Online Manual and AGA Annotated Model Grant Agreement thoroughly and to prepare all annex templates available in the Submission System.

Categorisation answers

Below are the structured answers to the categorisation questions for this opportunity, with detailed explanations drawn from the call documentation.

1. 1Eligible Applicant Types: Public authorities (ministries, agencies, other public entities) from EU Member States and EEA countries; private legal entities (SMEs, large enterprises, operators, data providers), research organisations, universities, research institutes, non-profit organisations, affiliated entities linked to beneficiaries. Natural persons (individuals) are NOT eligible except self-employed in certain limited cases. International organisations and other EU bodies (except JRC) are NOT eligible. Participation by entities controlled by third countries is NOT permitted (ownership and control restrictions).
2. 2Funding Type: Grant. Specifically a PPPA Project Grant (pilot project/preparatory action) implemented via the PPPA Model Grant Agreement. This is budget-based (mixed actual costs with unit cost/flat-rate elements possible).
3. 3Consortium Requirement: Consortium required. Minimum requirement: consortium composed of at least two Member States represented by competent public authorities. Multi-beneficiary structure mandatory. Involvement of other partners (private and research) is expected to support technical and operational aspects.
4. 4Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Eligible countries: EU Member States (including OCTs) and EEA countries (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein). Project activities should normally take place in EU waters/airspace of eligible countries but may extend to neighbouring/international areas if necessary. Entities controlled from non-eligible third countries are excluded.
5. 5Target Sector: Submarine communication cable security, maritime domain awareness, ICT and cybersecurity, satellite/space data integration, sensors and underwater robotics, data interoperability and data fusion technologies, standards and policy for critical infrastructure protection. Cross-cutting: communications networks and digital infrastructure security.
6. 6Mentioned Countries: Explicitly mentioned groups: EU Member States and EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein). No specific Member States named in the topic text; the call requires participation by at least two Member States. Region: EU / EEA.
7. 7Project Stage: Expected maturity: analysis/research plus prototyping/proof-of-concept and small-scale demonstrations in non-operational/sandbox conditions. The action is preparatory and pilot-focused rather than operational deployment.
8. 8Funding Amount: Topic budget €3,940,000. Expected to fund one project. EU co-funding limit 50% of eligible costs. No explicit single-project maximum stated beyond the topic budget; award will fix maximum grant amount in Grant Agreement. Applicants must propose a balanced budget and may be subject to pre-financing guarantees.
9. 9Application Type: Open call, single-stage submission via the Funding & Tenders Portal (electronic only). The Submission System provides templates (Part A online; Part B template downloaded from Submission System then uploaded as PDF).
10. 10Nature of Support: Monetary funding (grant) — budget-based reimbursements of eligible costs, plus non-financial support in the form of policy engagement, access to EU coordination, and dissemination/visibility via Commission channels. Financial support to third parties is NOT allowed.
11. 11Application Stages: Single-stage submission; evaluation and one-step award. Post-evaluation grant preparation (legal, financial, ownership/control checks) before signature (so effectively two operational stages: submission + evaluation; then grant preparation before signature).
12. 12Success Rates: Expected number of projects funded: 1. Success rate depends on number and quality of proposals; given topic budget and expected grants = 1, success rate across all applicants is inherently low but cannot be quantified exactly without applicants count. Competitive: proposals must pass individual award thresholds and overall threshold (60/100).
13. 13Co-funding Requirement: Yes — applicants must cover at least 50% of total eligible costs (EU funds up to 50%). Co-funding can be own funds or third-party contributions; in-kind contributions are allowed but cost-neutral and cannot be declared as eligible costs.
14. 14Templates: Application forms and templates are provided inside the Portal Submission System. Required documents: Application Form Part A (online), Application Form Part B (download template from Submission System and re-upload as PDF), mandatory annexes (detailed budget table/calculator, list of previous projects covering last 4 years, ownership and control declarations for participants and affiliated entities, prefinancing guarantee if requested, and other supporting documents as per Submission System slots). Part B is limited to 70 pages. Applicants should complete the detailed budget table that aligns with online summarised budget; in case of discrepancy online totals prevail. The PPPA Model Grant Agreement (MGA PPPA) and Annex templates (Annex 1 description of action, Annex 2 budget, Annex 2a unit cost details, Annex 3 accession forms, Annex 3a joint and several liability of affiliated entities, Annex 4 financial statement model, Annex 5 specific rules) will be used during grant preparation.

Evaluation and award criteria (detailed)

Award criteria and scoring:Relevance (40 points) — clarity, consistency, contribution to EU strategic and legislative context, multi-country interest; Quality (40 points) — logical coherence, consortium and team quality, methodology, work plan, management, risk mitigation and cost-effectiveness; Impact (20 points) — ambition, long-term impact, dissemination strategy, sustainability. Individual thresholds: Relevance >=21, Quality >=21, Impact >=11. Overall pass threshold 60/100. Ex aequo tie-break rules: higher Relevance score, then Impact, then Quality. The evaluation process includes admissibility, eligibility, operational capacity checks and then scoring by independent experts and a committee.

Key compliance, restrictions and risks applicants must address

1. 1Ownership and control restrictions: ensure no decisive control from third countries; provide ownership/control declarations; be prepared for validation by REA Central Validation Service.
2. 2Security constraints: handle classified information only under strict rules; facility security clearances and personnel security clearances may be required and must be in place before signature for certain tasks; activities involving high classification levels are ineligible.
3. 3Subcontracting limits: justify subcontracting levels; subcontracting must not cover core tasks; subcontracting beyond 30% requires justification.
4. 4No financial support to third parties permitted for this topic.
5. 5Data protection and GDPR compliance: proposals involving personal data must include safeguards and show compliance with data protection rules.
6. 6IPR and dissemination: the MGA grants the Commission wide rights to use non-sensitive information and material for communication and policy purposes; respect rights of third parties and obtain necessary licences.
7. 7No-profit rule: grants must not result in profit; revenues of the action must be declared and any profit deducted.

For help applicants should consult the Online Manual, Topic Q&A on the topic page, the PPPA call document and the annotated Model Grant Agreement. Portal-specific support: IT Helpdesk for submission issues and the call helpdesk email for content-specific questions.

How to position a winning proposal — practical checklist

1. 1Ensure lead coordinator is a competent public authority from an EU Member State and secure participation of at least one additional Member State public authority.
2. 2Assemble a technical consortium that includes private data holders/operators, maritime/satellite data providers, research partners experienced in data fusion/ontologies, and legal/compliance expertise for contracts and data governance.
3. 3Demonstrate experience from relevant EU initiatives on submarine cable security or related pilots; include a concise list of key projects from the last 4 years.
4. 4Provide a clear workplan with deliverables, milestones and a realistic budget aligned to Annex 2 templates; justify subcontracting and any unit cost or flat-rate elements.
5. 5Address ownership/control declarations early in preparation and collect required legal documentation for Central Validation Service.
6. 6Define measurable situational-awareness KPIs (spatial precision, latency, coverage, reliability) and describe pilot datasets and sandbox approach (synthetic/sample datasets, controlled integrations).
7. 7Include a robust data governance, security and ethics section covering GDPR, classified information handling (if applicable), confidentiality, and contractual models for data access.
8. 8Present concrete partnership models (service-based, data-sharing, hybrid) and an implementation roadmap indicating policy/standardisation needs and EU-level follow-up actions.
9. 9Plan dissemination and sustainability actions that respect security constraints and confidentiality while enabling cross-border trust-building.

Overall summary

This call funds a single pilot preparatory project to explore how private situational data (sensor feeds, telemetry, maritime and satellite surveillance, underwater drone outputs and emerging modalities) can be accessed, integrated and used by Regional Cable Hubs to enhance submarine cable security. The action requires a consortium led by competent public authorities from at least two EU Member States, supported by technical partners from industry and research. The project must map private data landscapes, assess feasibility and technical requirements for data ingestion and fusion, develop approaches for interoperability across providers and sea basins (including data models/ontologies and translation/fusion layers), demonstrate a proof-of-concept integration and provide evidence on situational-awareness metrics under pilot conditions, and deliver partnership models and policy recommendations for EU follow-up. Funding is provided as an EU grant (PPPA Project Grant) with an available topic budget of €3,940,000 and co-financing up to 50% of eligible costs. Submission is single-stage through the Funding & Tenders Portal using mandated templates; proposals must observe strict ownership/control, security and eligibility rules and meet award thresholds based on relevance, quality and impact. This is a strategically important preparatory action aimed at producing concrete, transferable recommendations and demonstrators to inform the establishment and operation of Regional Cable Hubs and EU-level policy and standardisation activity in the area of submarine-cable security.

Footnotes

1. 1Primary source: Call Document PPPA-2026 and associated documents on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (Call fiche, PPPA Model Grant Agreement, Work Programme Financing Decision 20.03.2026). Topic page: Topic details.

Funding Opportunity Overview

This is a Pilot Project and Preparatory Action (PPPA) call for proposals under the EU Action Plan on Cable Security, managed by DG CNECT. The project aims to determine how private-sector situational data (e.g., sensor feeds, maritime/satellite surveillance) can support the functioning of Regional Cable Hubs by mapping data landscapes, assessing integration feasibility, analyzing interoperability challenges, and conducting proof-of-concept demonstrations ¹.

Key Objectives and Expected Outcomes

Primary Outcomes:1. A consolidated reference on private situational data relevant for submarine-cable security, including sensitivity profiles and legal/commercial constraints ². 2. Interoperability and data fusion pathways for multi-source, multi-basin use, identifying feasible solutions like common data models or ontologies. 3. A proof-of-concept demonstration showing data access and integration within a Regional Cable Hub environment, with evidence on spatial precision and timeliness. 4. Partnership models and recommendations for EU follow-up, including service-based or data-sharing arrangements ³.

Who Should Apply

Proposals must be submitted by a consortium composed of at least two Member States, represented by competent public authorities (e.g., ministries, agencies) responsible for cable security, maritime security, or critical infrastructure protection. The involvement of a larger number of Member States is preferable. Other relevant public or private partners (e.g., cable operators, technical experts) may participate to support technical and operational implementation ⁴.

Eligibility and Consortium Requirements

1. 1Legal entities (public or private) established in EU Member States or EEA countries (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein)
2. 2Entities must NOT be controlled by a third country other than a Member State or EEA country (security-sensitive action)
3. 3Consortium must include competent public authorities from at least two Member States
4. 4Project activities must take place in eligible countries (primarily EU waters/airspace)
5. 5Financial support to third parties is not allowed

Budget and Financial Details

Timeline and Deadlines

1. 1Call Opening: 14 July 2026
2. 2Submission Deadline: 8 October 2026 at 17:00:00 CEST (Brussels time)
3. 3Evaluation Period: October-November 2026
4. 4Grant Signature: February 2027
5. 5Project Start: March-April 2027

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals are evaluated on three criteria with minimum pass scores:Relevance (40 points, min 21), Quality (40 points, min 21), and Impact (20 points, min 11). The overall threshold is 60 points. Priority for equal scores is determined by Relevance, then Impact, then Quality ⁵.

How to Submit

Applications must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The process includes filling Part A (administrative/budget) online and uploading Part B (technical description, max 70 pages) and mandatory annexes (ownership control declarations, list of previous projects) as PDFs. Paper submissions are not accepted ⁶.

Contact Information

For call-specific questions:CNECT-PPPA-2026-REGIONAL-SUBMARINE-ISM@ec.europa.eu. For IT helpdesk issues regarding the Portal: Contact the IT Helpdesk via the Portal ⁷.

Footnotes

1. 1Official Call Document: PPPA-2026, Version 1.0, 22.06.2026, DG CNECT.
2. 2Expected Outcomes detailed in Section 2 of the Call Document, focusing on private situational data mapping and constraints.
3. 3Partnership models and EU follow-up recommendations are a core expected result of the Pilot Project.
4. 4Consortium composition requirements specified in Section 6.2 of the Call Document, mandating public authorities from at least two Member States.
5. 5Award criteria and minimum pass scores defined in Section 9 of the Call Document.
6. 6Submission procedures and page limits (max 70 pages for Part B) outlined in Section 5 of the Call Document.
7. 7Contact details provided in Section 12 of the Call Document.