Regional Cable Hubs

The Regional Cable Hubs opportunity, identified by the reference DIGITAL-ECCC, is part of the EU's Digital Europe Programme focused on enhancing cybersecurity infrastructure to protect critical undersea cables that are vital for global connectivity and power supply. This initiative aims to establish four Regional Cable Hubs, each coordinated per sea basin (Mediterranean, Atlantic, Baltic, and North Sea/Continental), aimed at consolidating efforts for maritime security and cybersecurity. Eligible applicants include public authorities from EU Member States, National Cybersecurity Coordination Centres (NCCs) from EU, Iceland, and Norway, specific EU agencies, and critical infrastructure operators, particularly cable operators, who would collaborate within the hubs rather than lead applications. The funding mechanism consists of grants under the DIGITAL JU Simple Grants, providing a total budget of €10 million specifically allocated for this purpose, divided into four grants of €3 million each. Consortium participation is required, emphasizing collaborative engagement among various stakeholders, including national authorities and private entities. The project should focus on operational implementation rather than foundational research, encouraging applicants to propose systems for threat detection, information sharing, and incident management. Geographically, all EU Member States are eligible, placing an emphasis on participation from coastal nations that can directly engage with maritime authorities. The call opens on October 28, 2025, and closes on March 31, 2026, requiring a single-stage application. This structure implies a competitive selection process with indicative success rates speculated between 10% and 25%. Funding is intended to cover a range of necessary expenses, including preparatory activities, running costs, and the acquisition of infrastructure to enhance undersea cable security. Projects must demonstrate their capacity to improve collaborative protocols for data dissemination and quick incident response actions. The initiative is strategically relevant in the context of increasing threats to submarine cables, reflecting a comprehensive effort to unify disparate national systems into a cohesive and effective European defense mechanism against cyber and physical threats to critical infrastructure.

The DIGITAL-ECCC call, part of the Digital Europe Programme, aims to deploy strategic cyber capabilities across Europe by establishing and strengthening Regional Cable Hubs. These hubs are designed to enhance the security and resilience of undersea cables, which are critical infrastructure for global connectivity and power supply. The call is a DIGITAL-JU-SIMPLE DIGITAL JU Simple Grants action with a DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG] Model Grant Agreement. It is a forthcoming single-stage action.

The planned opening date is 28 October 2025, and the deadline for submission is 31 March 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcome is to enhance and consolidate collective situational awareness and capabilities in detection, supporting the development of operational capacities to ensure the security and resilience of undersea cables. Regional Cable Hubs should act as central points for broader pooling of data and information relevant to the security environment of the cables, enabling the dissemination of threat information and incident detection on a regional scale among various national actors, such as National Hubs and CSIRTs.

The hubs should facilitate rapid information exchange, even of classified information, among participating authorities, who will establish procedural arrangements for cooperation and information sharing. Additional solutions for surveillance, protection, and malicious activity detection are encouraged, such as in-situ sea-based sensor data analysis, satellite imagery, and undersea drone capacities.

The hubs are encouraged to utilize existing systems like the Integrated Maritime Systems, the Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE), the EU Copernicus Space Programme, and the Maritime Surveillance System (MARSUR). Direct cooperation with private entities, especially cable operators, is essential for increased access to information on ongoing and future threats and voluntary incident reporting within a highly secured framework.

Progressive integration of the defence dimension is also expected, leveraging defence capacities to increase situational awareness and rapid response capabilities in case of incidents against critical infrastructure. Member States can integrate their defence capacities, such as navy or surveillance systems, and operational command, while building on international partnerships.

The grant will support preparatory activities for setting up the Regional Cable Hub, interaction and cooperation between members and stakeholders, running/operating costs, acquisition of infrastructures, tools, and services, and equipping the hub with necessary capacities to enhance undersea cable security and resilience, including detection capacities.

The objective of this call is to support the progressive establishment of Regional Cable Hubs, one per sea basin of the EU, to enhance threat detection and operational security around strategic infrastructures. This action aims to support the setup of processes, tools, and services for detection and analysis of emerging threats, establishing near real-time situational awareness to protect undersea cables. This includes aggregating data and security information from all available sources, including established systems like the Integrated Maritime System, CISE, and National Cyber Hubs, and analyzing them in an automated way. The action will also support the establishment of a reporting incident function and a procedure for information sharing between relevant national authorities.

Structured partnerships with the private sector to enhance voluntary information sharing for cable security, as well as the potential and progressive integration of relevant defence dimension capacities in a dual-use approach, could be considered. Participating Member States may decide that regional cable hubs coordinate the deployment and activation of modular repair equipment across a sea basin. The scope could also cover the acquisition of additional capacities, equipment, tools, instruments, or services useful for enhancing the resilience and security of undersea cables.

Conditions for participation include:

1. Admissibility Conditions:Proposal page limit and layout are described in section 5 of the call document and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries are described in section 6 of the call document.

3. Other Eligible Conditions are described in section 6 of the call document.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in section 7 of the call document.

5a. Evaluation and award:Submission and evaluation processes are described in section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual.

€5B. Evaluation and award:Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in section 9 of the call document.

5c. Evaluation and award:The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in section 4 of the call document.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants is described in section 10 of the call document.

Relevant documents include the Digital Europe Cybersecurity Work Programme 2025-2027, Regulation (EU) 2021/887, the call document, application form templates, ownership control declaration, Model Grant Agreements (MGA), DEP MGA, DEP Regulation 2021/964, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, 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, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The budget overview for 2025 includes:

DIGITAL-ECCC:€10,000,000, with contributions around €3,000,000 and an indicative number of 4 grants.

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-COORDPREP:€10,000,000, with contributions around €1,500,000 and an indicative number of 6 grants.

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-CYBERAI:€15,000,000, with contributions from 3,000,000 to €5,000,000 and an indicative number of 4 grants.

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-UPTAKE:€15,000,000, with contributions around €3,000,000 and an indicative number of 5 grants.

Partner search announcements are available for LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants to publish partner requests. The submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header.

For support, applicants are encouraged to contact the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centres (NCC) in their country or the ECCC Applicants Direct Contact Centre. Additional resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, IT Helpdesk, and Online Manual.

In summary, this opportunity is about establishing and strengthening Regional Cable Hubs across the EU to protect critical undersea cable infrastructure. It involves collaboration between Member States, private entities, and potentially defence capabilities to enhance threat detection, information sharing, and incident response. The grants will cover various activities, from preparatory work to infrastructure acquisition, with the aim of ensuring the security and resilience of these vital communication and power supply lines. The call encourages the use of existing maritime and cybersecurity systems and promotes a dual-use approach by integrating defence capabilities where appropriate.

Eligible Applicant Types:The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, based on the context, eligible applicants are likely to include Member States, National Hubs, CSIRTs (Computer Security Incident Response Teams), private entities (especially cable operators), and potentially other national actors designated by each Member State. The reference to National Cybersecurity Coordination Centres (NCCs) suggests that government or government-affiliated organizations are also eligible. The mention of SMEs in the DIGITAL-JU-SME action indicates that SMEs are eligible for that specific action.

Funding Type:The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a DIGITAL JU Simple Grant or a DIGITAL JU SME Support Action. The grants are intended to cover preparatory activities, interaction and cooperation costs, running/operating costs, and the acquisition of infrastructure, tools, and services.

Consortium Requirement:The text suggests that a consortium of multiple applicants is required, particularly involving Member States and other relevant actors within a sea basin. The emphasis on Regional Cable Hubs implies collaboration between multiple entities to establish and operate these hubs.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The geographic eligibility is primarily focused on EU Member States, Iceland, and Norway. The initiative aims to establish Regional Cable Hubs per sea basin of the EU, indicating a regional focus within the EU.

Target Sector:The program targets the cybersecurity sector, specifically focusing on the security and resilience of undersea cables, which are critical infrastructure for global connectivity and power supply. It also touches upon the maritime sector due to the nature of undersea cables and the use of maritime surveillance systems.

Mentioned Countries:Iceland, Norway, and the 27 EU Member States are explicitly mentioned.

Project Stage:The expected maturity of the project is focused on the establishment and deployment phases. The program aims to support the progressive establishment of Regional Cable Hubs, suggesting that projects should be in the development, validation, or demonstration stages, moving towards operational deployment.

Funding Amount:The funding range varies depending on the specific topic:

DIGITAL-ECCC:around €3,000,000 per grant, with a total budget of €10,000,000.

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-COORDPREP:around €1,500,000 per grant, with a total budget of €10,000,000.

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-CYBERAI:€3,000,000 to €5,000,000 per grant, with a total budget of €15,000,000.

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-UPTAKE:around €3,000,000 per grant, with a total budget of €15,000,000.

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

Nature of Support:Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants to support the establishment and operation of Regional Cable Hubs, including the acquisition of necessary infrastructure, tools, and services.

Application Stages:The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates:The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight:

DIGITAL-ECCC:4 grants

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-COORDPREP:6 grants

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-CYBERAI:4 grants

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-UPTAKE:5 grants

Co-funding Requirement:The text does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

This EU funding opportunity, under the Digital Europe Programme, aims to enhance the security and resilience of undersea cables by establishing and strengthening Regional Cable Hubs across EU sea basins. The initiative is part of the EU Action Plan on Cable Security and aligns with the NIS2 Directive's all-hazards approach. The grants will support activities such as setting up the Regional Cable Hub, fostering cooperation among members and stakeholders, covering operational costs, and acquiring necessary infrastructure and detection capacities. The hubs are intended to serve as central points for pooling and sharing data, disseminating threat information, and coordinating incident response. Eligible applicants include EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, National Hubs, CSIRTs, and private entities like cable operators. The program encourages the integration of defence dimensions and partnerships with the private sector. The funding is distributed across four main topics, each with a specific budget and indicative number of grants, ranging from €1.5 million to €5 million per grant. The application process is a single-stage open call, with submissions due by March 31, 2026. This initiative is crucial for protecting critical infrastructure that provides essential services like global connectivity and power supply, addressing both physical and cyber threats to undersea cables.