Call window open Horizon Europe Cluster 3 — civil security, 2026 calls (HORIZON-CL3-2026-01)
The 2026 Horizon Europe calls for civil security have an indicative €131 million across five areas: crime and terrorism, external borders, resilient infrastructure, disasters and security innovation. European consortia must submit by 5 November 2026.
- Who can apply
- European consortia made up of companies, SMEs, universities, research institutes and public authorities
- Total budget
- 131 million
- Funding amount
- Varies from one topic to another
- Submission period
- 6 May 2026 – 5 November 2026 (the Resilient Infrastructure, Disaster Resilience and SSRI strands open from 15 May 2026)
Checked against official sources on · funder: European Commission · official source
The call window is open. The time left until the deadline decides whether we can still build your application in time, so call today.
Who can apply
European consortia made up of companies, SMEs, universities, research institutes and public authorities. Many topics require practitioners to be beneficiaries: police, rescue services, emergency medical authorities and border authorities. For example, FCT-01 requires at least 2 police authorities from 2 different countries, while DRS-03 requires 2 first-responder organisations and 2 emergency medical authorities from at least 3 countries. Technology companies can join as solution providers. The exact conditions are set out in the text of each topic.
What it covers
- Protecting citizens against crime and terrorism (6 topics), including police capability in the face of climate-related challenges and the protection of public spaces
- Management of the EU's external borders (3 topics): smarter surveillance, easier and more accessible travel, reliable age verification
- Resilient infrastructure (3 topics): testing critical infrastructure and the risks of the green transition in cities
- Disaster resilience (5 topics), for example innovative search and rescue tools for hazardous conditions
- Security innovation (SSRI, 3 topics): innovation in SMEs, preparing pre-commercial public procurement, and innovation driven by user needs
Apply in the current call window
- We analyse whether you qualify and under which programme exactly.
- We build the application: business plan, budget, supporting documents.
- We submit during the call window and follow the evaluation.
- We stay with you through the reimbursement file and final payment.
Frequently asked questions
Until when can projects be submitted to the 2026 Horizon Europe civil security calls?
All five strands of the HORIZON-CL3-2026-01 call share the same deadline: 5 November 2026. Submission is online, via the European Commission's Funding & Tenders Portal.
What is the budget of the 2026 Cluster 3 civil security calls?
The indicative budget is approximately €131 million. By strand: €40.67 million for crime and terrorism, €21.33 million for external borders, €22.67 million for resilient infrastructure, €32.5 million for disaster resilience and €13.83 million for security innovation (SSRI).
How much does a project receive?
The amount is set separately for each topic. For example, FCT-01 and DRS-03 each fund 2 projects of €4 million each, while SSRI-01 funds 2 projects of €1.5 million each. Several topics use lump sum grants.
Can a Romanian company apply on its own?
No. Projects are submitted by European consortia. Many topics require practitioners from several EU or associated countries to be beneficiaries. For example, FCT-01 requires at least 2 police authorities from 2 different countries.
Who manages these calls?
The European Commission, through the European Research Executive Agency (REA), which handles the evaluation and management of projects under Cluster 3 Civil Security for Society.
How strong is the competition?
In the 2025 calls, REA received 153 proposals for crime and terrorism, 260 for disasters, 90 for resilient infrastructure, 51 for borders and 46 for SSRI.
How long does it take to prepare the application?
It depends on the complexity of the project and the documents you already have. The first step is the eligibility analysis, which tells you what needs to be prepared.
What happens if I do not qualify?
We tell you before any contract is signed, and if another suitable programme exists, we point you to it.
Next step
Apply in the current call window — Horizon Europe Cluster 3 — civil security, 2026 calls (HORIZON-CL3-2026-01)
Fill in the form and we will tell you whether you qualify. If you do not qualify under this programme, we will tell you which other one you could apply for — or that there is none, if that is the case.
or call us directly on 0755 167 167
Other programmes
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The 7 CEF Transport 2026 calls (CINEA) have €1.1 billion for TEN-T: railways, inland waterways, ports, external borders, road digitalisation, alternative fuels and military mobility. Deadline: 6 October 2026, 17:00 CEST.
Call window openEIC Pathfinder Challenges 2026 — grants for deep-tech research (Horizon Europe)
The European Innovation Council provides up to 4 million euro per project (100% of eligible costs) for high-risk research on three themes: energy harvesting, healthy ageing and cognitive AI. The budget is 96 million euro. The deadline is 28 October 2026, 17:00.
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EIC Accelerator funds deep-tech start-ups and SMEs with a grant of up to 2,499,999 euro (maximum 70% of costs) and an equity investment of 1–10 million euro through the EIC Fund. The 2026 budget is 634 million euro.