Deadline Date: March 31, 2026
The European Commission under the Digital Europe Programme has launched a call to enhance cybersecurity and operational resilience through the establishment of Regional Cable Hubs across EU sea basins.
Focus Areas/Objectives/Priorities/Themes: The objective is to support the progressive establishment of Regional Cable hubs, one per sea basins of the EU, whose role will be to concretely enhance threats detection and operational security around these strategic infrastructures. This action is therefore aimed at supporting the set-up of processes, tools and services for detection and analysis of emerging threats, to establish a near real time situational awareness to protect the undersea cables. It includes the capacity to aggregate data and security information from all available sources (including established systems such as the Integrated Maritime System, or CISE, or National Cyber Hubs) and analyse them in an automated way. The action will support also the establishment of a reporting incident function and a procedure for information sharing between relevant national authorities. Additionally, structured partnership with private sector to enhance the voluntary information sharing for cable security as well as the potential and progressive integration of the relevant defence dimension capacities – in a dual use approach – could be considered in the action. Should the participating Member States so decide, the regional cable hubs could coordinate the deployment and activation of modular repair equipment across a sea basin. Finally, 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.
The European Union’s strategic focus on cable infrastructure security arises from the growing geopolitical and cyber risks targeting submarine cables, which are essential for global connectivity, energy transmission, and communication systems. The Regional Cable Hubs will act as central coordination entities to consolidate situational awareness, enhance detection capabilities, and strengthen operational readiness across Europe’s maritime zones.
These hubs will enable near real-time information sharing between national authorities, cybersecurity centres, and critical infrastructure operators. They will facilitate the pooling and analysis of intelligence from diverse sources, including the Integrated Maritime Systems, Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE), EU Copernicus Space Programme, and the Maritime Surveillance System (MARSUR). This integrated approach ensures early threat detection and improved resilience of submarine cables against sabotage, espionage, or system failures.
The initiative also promotes strong cooperation with private sector cable operators under highly secure frameworks to encourage voluntary incident reporting and information sharing. In addition, Member States are encouraged to include their defence capacities, such as naval surveillance and command operations, to strengthen the hubs’ capability to respond swiftly to threats or disruptions.
The total budget allocated for the DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09 call is EUR 50 million, with EUR 10 million specifically earmarked for the Regional Cable Hubs topic. Projects selected under this topic will receive support through Simple Grants with a 70% funding rate, an exceptional increase justified by the geopolitical importance of protecting undersea cable infrastructure. Multi-beneficiary applications are mandatory, requiring at least two independent applicants from two different eligible EU or EEA countries.
Funding will cover preparatory activities, infrastructure setup, analytical tools, and operational costs necessary for the functioning of the hubs. Eligible applicants include public authorities, agencies, or entities responsible for cable security, maritime protection, critical infrastructure resilience, and cybersecurity within the EU.
For more information, visit EC.
