96 Million Euros for Cybersecurity: New EU Funding Calls Under the “Digital Europe” Program
New Funding Opportunities for AI, Cybersecurity, SMEs, and Dual-Use Technologies
October 9, 2026
As part of the Digital Europe program, the European Union is providing a total of 96 million euros for new projects aimed at strengthening European cybersecurity capabilities. The new calls for proposals were published on September 1, 2026. The DIGITAL-ECCC-2027-DEPLOY-CYBER-11 call is being implemented by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) and covers seven funding areas.
Strengthening Digitalization and Digital Sovereignty
The EU’s Digital Europe funding program aims to advance Europe’s digital transformation while strengthening the European Union’s digital sovereignty. Businesses, citizens, and public administrations are expected to benefit from digital technologies.
In total, the program allocates 7.6 billion euros in investments across five key areas:
- Supercomputing
- Artificial Intelligence
- Cybersecurity
- Building Digital Skills
- Support for the digital transformation of businesses and public administrations
New Funding Topics in the Field of Cybersecurity
The current cybersecurity funding calls are of particular interest to businesses, research institutions, and other innovation stakeholders. The NKCS highlights six relevant funding topics from the current call:
- Cybersecure tools, technologies, and services relying on AI—A total budget of 15 million euros is available for this topic area.
- Coordinated preparedness testing and other preparedness actions—15 million euros are also available for coordinated preparedness measures.
- Strengthening cybersecurity capacities of European SMEs with cybersecure AI-powered solutions – This funding area combines artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and SMEs. The total budget is 20 million euros.
- Regional Cable Hubs – A total of 5 million euros is earmarked for this funding area.
- Strengthening EU Cybersecurity Capacities & Capabilities in Line with Legislative Requirements – 20 million euros are available to strengthen European cybersecurity capacities and capabilities in the context of legislative requirements.
- Dual-Use Technologies - A total budget of 10 million euros is allocated for projects in the field of dual-use technologies.
Advice and Support in Finding Partners
The National Cybersecurity Coordination Center (NKCS) provides advice on EU funding opportunities in the field of cybersecurity and assists with networking with potential project partners.