ECCC Info Day - Funding opportunities, 2 September 2025, Berlin, Germany

Interested participants will also have the possibility to pitch their project ideas for funding opportunities and to search for potential partners on site.

Programme 

9:30 Registration

10:00 Welcome and opening remarks 

10:15 Digital Europe Programme (DEP) and Horizon Europe (HE): Open calls and Q&A 

11:15 Coffee break

11:30 Cybersecurity Competence Community

11:45 National Coordination Centres in focus

12:00 Community insights - Experiences with running DEP and HE projects 

12:30 Lunch

13:30 Pitching on open calls

14:15 How to write a project proposal: Tips & tricks and Q&A

14:30 The validation procedure by the Central Validation Service

14:45 Coffee break

15:00 Group work: Sketching a proposal – where to get started?

16:00 Conclusions and networking opportunities

Information on the open calls for proposals

The first call for proposals from the Digital Europe Cyber Work Programme 2025-2027 (DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08) focuses on 3 topics for an overall indicative budget of EUR 55 million: 

- Transition to post-quantum Public Key Infrastructures (EUR 15 million);

- Enhancing the NCC Network (EUR 10 million);

- Dedicated action to reinforcing hospitals and healthcare providers (EUR 30 million). 

This call is open to businesses, SMEs, public administrations, and other entities from EU Member States and EEA countries.  

Proposals can be submitted until 7 October 2025 at 17:00 CET. Further details are available on the Funding and Tenders portal at this link.

The call for proposals from Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2025 Civil Security for Society (HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC – Increased cybersecurity) implemented by the ECCC covers the following topics for overall indicative budget of 90.55 mil euro:

- Generative AI for Cybersecurity applications (EUR 40 million);

- New advanced tools and processes for Operational Cybersecurity (EUR 23.55 million);

- Privacy Enhancing Technologies (EUR 11 million);

- Security evaluations of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) primitives (EUR 4 million);

- Security of implementations of Post Quantum Cryptography algorithm (EUR 6 million);

- Integration of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms into high-level protocols (EUR 6 million).

Proposals can be submitted until 12 November 2025 at 17:00 CET. The eligibility criteria and all relevant call documents are available on the Funding and Tenders portal at this link.

Background 

Digital Europe Programme is implemented by multiannual work programmes and supports investments in the following sectors: High Performance Computing; Cloud, data and Artificial Intelligence; Cybersecurity and Advanced digital skills.  The ECCC implements the cybersecurity strategic objective. In March 2025, the Centre published its first Cybersecurity Work Programme under DEP for 2025-2027.

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation. The ECCC was entrusted by the European Commission with the implementation of specific actions under Cluster 3 - Civil Security for Society from Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025. 

Digital Europe and Horizon Europe are programmes financed by the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework of the European Union.