Open topic on improved intelligence picture and enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of various forms of organised crime

The Horizon Europe Programme, under the Civil Security for Society initiative, includes a specific call identified as HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-FCT-03. This call is directed towards improving methods for combating organized crime through the enhancement of intelligence, prevention, detection, and deterrence strategies. The focus is on creative or disruptive solutions that address new challenges in this area.

Eligible applicants for this grant include police authorities, border guards, customs authorities, research organizations, and other entities legally mandated to prevent, detect, or investigate criminal offenses. A crucial requirement is the active involvement of at least three police authorities from a minimum of three different EU Member States or Associated Countries, fostering cross-border collaboration.

The funding nature of this call falls under Horizon Europe's grant provisions, specifically for research and innovation actions. The expected budget ranges from 2 million to 18 million euros per project, with HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-FCT-03 specifically having an indicative budget of 7.5 million euros and targeting around two grants.

The application process is designed as a single-stage open call, with a submission deadline set for November 12, 2025. Successful applicants will receive monetary support aimed at developing validated tools, methodologies, and training curricula for law enforcement. The projects should result in improved mechanisms for secure information exchange and provide evidence-based support for policymakers.

Coordination among proposals is encouraged to ensure efficiency and prevent duplication of efforts. The outcomes should not only provide practical tools for frontline policing but also contribute to a deeper understanding of organized crime challenges across borders.

The grants are highly competitive, with estimated success rates ranging from 10 to 39 percent, and although co-funding requirements are generally present in Horizon Europe grants, it may not be explicitly required for this specific call.

In summary, this grant opportunity seeks innovative proposals that enhance law enforcement capabilities in the fight against organized crime, focusing on collaboration, practical application, and policy relevance within a European context.

The Horizon Europe Programme, under the call Civil Security for Society (HORIZON-CL3-2025-01), includes a topic focused on improving the intelligence picture and enhancing the prevention, detection, and deterrence of various forms of organised crime. This topic, designated as HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-FCT-03, aims to address new, upcoming, or unforeseen challenges and/or creative or disruptive solutions in combating organised crime. It is classified as a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a budget-based HORIZON Action Grant (HORIZON-AG).

The expected outcomes of projects funded under this topic include:

Improved, modern, uniform, and validated tools, skills, methodologies, and innovative training curricula for Police Authorities in Europe to prevent, detect, and investigate organised crime offences, including the early detection of criminal networks and the identification of emerging trends and challenges.

Improved mechanisms for the use of cross-border tools to facilitate secure information exchange in the fight against organised crime, including criminal networks, taking into account all applicable legislation and fundamental rights.

Enhanced understanding of the key challenges and best practices related to combating cross-border organised crime.

Evidence-based support to policy-makers on shaping and tuning of regulation related to cross-border organised crime including criminal networks.

The scope of this topic encourages proposals that offer creative or disruptive solutions for improving the intelligence picture and enhancing the prevention, detection, and deterrence of various forms of organised crime, particularly those not covered by previous Horizon Europe calls. Proposals should convincingly explain how they build upon and not duplicate previous research. Demonstration, testing, or validation of developed tools and solutions is expected, along with plans for future uptake and upscaling at national and EU levels.

Coordination among successful proposals is encouraged to avoid duplication and exploit complementarities. The active involvement of Border Guard and/or Customs Authorities from EU Member States or Associated Countries is recommended. Proposals addressing issues within Europol's mandate are expected to engage with the Europol Innovation Lab, and those concerning drug-related issues should engage with the EU Drugs Agency.

To ensure active involvement and feedback from security practitioners, proposals should include a mid-term deliverable consisting of an assessment of the project’s mid-term outcomes by the practitioners involved. The integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) should be addressed if relevant to the research objectives.

The general conditions for this topic include:

Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limits and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.

Eligible Countries: As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Other Eligible Conditions: Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks. Active involvement of at least 3 Police Authorities from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries is required. Applicants must provide information about these security practitioners in the application form. Projects using satellite-based data and services must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: As described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Legal and financial set-up of the grants: As described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information:

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including the standard application form (HE RIA, IA).

Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations, including the standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA).

Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide.

Model Grant Agreements (MGA) include the HE MGA.

Call-specific instructions and the Information on Security Practitioners Template are available.

Additional documents include:

HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction

HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 6. Civil Security for Society

HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. General Annexes

HE Programme Guide

HE Framework Programme 2021/695

HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764

EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509

Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme

Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment

EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement

Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual

Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions

Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

The budget overview for the Civil Security for Society (HORIZON-CL3-2025-01) call in 2025 includes various topics with their respective budget allocations, opening dates, deadlines, and indicative number of grants. The opening date for all topics is planned for 12 June 2025, and the deadline for contributions is 12 November 2025.

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-BM-01: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 10,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 3

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-BM-02: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, Budget: 9,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 3

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-BM-03: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 9,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 3

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-DRS-01: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, Budget: 12,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 3

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-DRS-02: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, Budget: 10,500,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 3

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-DRS-03: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 13,500,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 3

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-DRS-04: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 5,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 1

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-FCT-01: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, Budget: 18,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 6

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-FCT-02: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, Budget: 12,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 4

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-FCT-03: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 7,500,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 2

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-FCT-04: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 6,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 1

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-INFRA-01: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 15,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 3

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-INFRA-02: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, Budget: 7,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 2

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-SSRI-01: HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions, Budget: 3,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 1

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-SSRI-02: HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions, Budget: 5,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 1

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-SSRI-03: HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions, Budget: 2,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 2

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-SSRI-04: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 3,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 2

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-SSRI-05: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 3,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 1

HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-SSRI-06: HORIZON Pre-commercial Procurement, Budget: 5,500,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: around 1

Partner search announcements and a start submission option are available on the portal. General FAQs and support contacts are also provided for applicants.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to foster innovative solutions for combating organised crime by funding projects that develop and validate new tools, skills, and methodologies. It emphasizes cross-border cooperation, the involvement of relevant authorities, and the potential for policy impact. The call provides a range of funding opportunities across different action types, with a focus on innovation and research to enhance civil security in Europe.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but based on the requirements, they include Police Authorities, Border Guards, Customs Authorities, research organizations, and entities legally mandated for the prevention, detection, and/or investigation of criminal offences. The Enterprise Europe Network targets SMEs. The call is part of the Horizon Europe program, which is open to various legal entities, including universities, research institutions, SMEs, large enterprises, and public organizations.

Funding Type: The funding type includes grants, specifically HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA), HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) and HORIZON Pre-commercial Procurement (HORIZON-PCP). The MGA (Model Grant Agreement) type is HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG].

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium, as evidenced by the need for active involvement of at least 3 Police Authorities from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. Coordination among successful proposals is also envisaged.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may also be eligible if they have made specific provisions for funding their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector: The target sector is civil security, specifically focusing on fighting crime and terrorism, improving the intelligence picture, and enhancing the prevention, detection, and deterrence of various forms of organised crime. It also touches on areas such as law enforcement, border security, and customs.

Mentioned Countries: EU Member States, Associated Countries, and non-EU/non-Associated Countries (third countries) are mentioned in the context of eligibility.

Project Stage: The project stage appears to be geared towards demonstration, testing, validation of developed tools and solutions, future uptake and upscaling at national and EU level, and evidence-based support to policy-makers. Therefore, the project stage is development, validation, demonstration, and scale-up.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call, ranging from €2,000,000 to €18,000,000.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic is provided, allowing for an estimation of the success rate based on the expected number of applications.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly mentioned.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, under the Civil Security for Society program, seeks proposals for innovation actions, research and innovation actions, coordination and support actions, and pre-commercial procurement projects aimed at improving the intelligence picture and enhancing the prevention, detection, and deterrence of organised crime. The call is open to consortia including Police Authorities, Border Guards, Customs Authorities, and other relevant organisations from EU Member States and Associated Countries, with potential eligibility for non-EU/non-associated countries. Projects should focus on developing and validating tools, skills, methodologies, and training curricula for law enforcement, improving information exchange mechanisms, enhancing understanding of cross-border organised crime, and supporting policy-makers with evidence-based recommendations. The funding ranges from 2 million to 18 million euros per project, and the application process involves a single-stage submission with a deadline in November 2025. The call encourages coordination among projects and active engagement with Europol and the EU Drugs Agency, where relevant.