Sources & Methodology

Scope

This page covers funding programmes relevant to cybersecurity and dual-use technologies in Europe for the 2026 calendar year. We focus on programmes with active, upcoming or recently closed calls during this period. Programmes with no planned activity in 2026 are excluded.

The "Total Budget 2026" headline figure (currently €1.6B+) represents the sum of grant-based funding across all listed programmes. It intentionally excludes debt-based instruments (such as the European Investment Bank's Security & Defence lending facility) to avoid conflating grants with loans and equity investments, which have fundamentally different implications for applicants.

Primary Sources

All programme data is sourced exclusively from official institutional publications. We do not rely on secondary reporting or press articles for budget figures or deadline dates.

European Commission

EU Funding & Tenders Portal — call documentation, budget breakdowns and deadlines for Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programmes
Horizon Europe Cluster 3 Work Programme 2025–2026
Digital Europe Programme Work Programme 2025–2026

European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC)

ECCC official website — calls for expression of interest, deployment actions and national cyber hub programmes
ECCC-managed calls under Horizon Europe and Digital Europe

European Defence Fund (EDF)

EDF Work Programme 2026 (published by DG DEFIS)
EUDIS official portal — European Defence Innovation Scheme instruments and hackathon information

European Innovation Council (EIC)

EIC Work Programme 2026 — Pathfinder, Transition, Accelerator and STEP Scale-Up instruments
EIC official funding opportunities page

European Investment Bank (EIB)

EIB Security & Defence initiative page — lending facility scope and eligibility

NATO

NATO DIANA official website — accelerator programme details, cohort information and challenge areas

Cascade Funding

Cascade Funding Hub (cascadefunding.eu) — open calls under EU-funded projects providing Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP)

Methodology Notes

Budget Figures

Programme-level budgets are taken directly from official work programmes or call documentation. Where a programme comprises multiple calls or instruments, the total reflects the published programme budget for the relevant year.

Per-deadline Budgets

For programmes with multiple cut-off dates (e.g. the European Innovation Council), individual deadline budgets represent indicative allocations per cut-off as published in the work programme. These allocations may not sum exactly to the programme total, as instruments such as the EIC Accelerator maintain undistributed reserves that are allocated across cut-offs based on demand and evaluation outcomes. The total programme budget (e.g. €1.3B for EIC) remains the authoritative figure.

Deadlines and Status

Deadline dates are sourced from official call documentation and are updated as new information becomes available. Programme statuses are categorised as:

Open — Call is published and accepting applications
Upcoming — Call is announced or expected but not yet open
Closed — Submission deadline has passed
Ongoing — Programme accepts applications on a rolling basis

Timeline Chart

The funding deadlines scatter chart uses a logarithmic scale on the vertical axis (budget) to accommodate programmes ranging from €2M to over €1B within the same visualisation. This means that visual distances between points do not represent proportional budget differences. Hover over individual points for exact figures.

Dual-Use Classification

Programmes are flagged as "dual-use" when they explicitly support technologies with both civilian and defence applications, or when the programme framework (e.g. EDF, NATO DIANA) inherently targets dual-use innovation. Some EU-funded cybersecurity programmes may also carry a dual-use flag where the call documentation references dual-use applicability.

Update Frequency

This page is updated periodically as new calls are published, deadlines change or programme details are revised. The "Last updated" date on the main Funding Sources page indicates when the data was last reviewed and modified.

Limitations

This overview is limited to programmes with activity in 2026. Multi-annual programmes are included only for their 2026 allocations.
Budget figures for programmes labelled "upcoming" or "to be announced" may change when official call documentation is published.
Cascade funding (FSTP) calls are managed by individual EU-funded project consortia; budgets and deadlines vary by parent project and are not exhaustively listed.
The European Investment Bank facility is included for completeness but operates as a lending instrument, not a grant programme. Its budget is excluded from the headline grant total.

Disclaimer

This page is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, applicants should always consult the official call documentation on the relevant EU portal or programme website before submitting an application. CoCyber accepts no liability for decisions made on the basis of the information presented here.