Submarine Cable Repair Capacities

Home Funding Calls for proposals Submarine Cable Repair Capacities - Works Submarine Cable Repair Capacities - Works CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES-WORKS Topic Call for proposal Internal navigation General information Topic description Topic updates Conditions and documents Budget overview Partner search announcements Start submission Topic Q&As Get support General information Programme Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Call Submarine Cable Repair Capacities (CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES) Type of action CEF-INFRA CEF Infrastructure Projects Type of MGA CEF Action Grant Budget-Based [CEF-AG] Open For Submission Deadline model single-stage Opening date 23 June 2026 Deadline date 08 October 2026 17:00:00 Brussels time Topic description Expected Impact: The expected benefits of the supported project: Provide quick response to emergency situations identified by the relevant Regional Cable Hub or other entity declaring the emergency situation (Key Performance Indicator). Provide quick average estimated time-to-repair for cable systems in the targeted EU sea basins with at least one landing point in an EU territory (Key Performance Indicator). Increase operational repair capacity in the main European sea basins (Key Performance Indicator). Strengthen the resilience of cable systems in the main European sea basins. Ensure digital sovereignty and strategic autonomy of the EU in the main European sea basins. Objective: This call aims to enhance emergency response capacities and the resilience of backbone networks’ infrastructures by supporting the development and deployment of adaptable repair modules for swift emergency repair operations, enabling quick response to incidents that could severely impact the Union or its Member States. The goal of the EU is to fund modules covering the main sea basins of the Union, the objective being to develop adaptable repair modules that can be deployed on existing vessels, as well as the necessary related operational capabilities. The modules are expected to be rapidly operational in order to re-establish the service of submarine cables (through repair or substitution) in emergency situations, i.e. where the cut or the failure of the cable can cause a severe damage to one or more Member States, and the service disruption cannot be fixed timely by commercial services. Applicants will have to work in coordination with the authorities declaring the emergency situation, which are expected to be the future Regional Cable Hubs4. The modules would be hosted in ports or shipyards with the capacity to install them on board of ships within a maximum of 3 days from the arrival of the vessel at the port/shipyard, following a request by the Regional Surveillance Hub envisaged in the Action Plan on Cable Security. Scope: This call funds modular equipment for the repair of telecom submarine cables, and targets public entities with an emergency response mandate such as entities active in the civil protection, national emergency response agencies, coastguards and military navies. Each Member State will confirm the nature of the applicant in the mandatory Letter of Support. Beneficiaries can subcontract the activities covered by this call for proposals as well as the operation of the modules for repair intervention to third parties, including publicly or privately owned entities without an emergency response mandate. However, the modules can only be used to respond to emergency situations declared by the competent authority. The pre-configured vessels are flat deck vessels that should be able to receive the modules with minor adaptation and operational preparation, and without regulatory or technical barriers. Therefore, the proposals should demonstrate the adaptability, portability and scalability of the solution put forward. To make sure that the modular equipment will be ready for intervention, applicants should identify at least three vessels that are or will be pre-configured for receiving the modules. Costs for pre-configuration of the vessels can be included in the proposal provided that they comply with the eligibility conditions of this call. Applicants should explain in detail in their proposal how the vessels are already pre-configured or how they plan to carry out the above-mentioned pre-configuration, and how many pre-configured vessels will be made available. For vessels owned by third parties, applicants should provide details on lease or service level agreement guaranteeing the availability of these vessels to receive the modules over their economic lifespan (at least 10 years). Proposals should also demonstrate solid implementation plans, including the definition of compatible specifications for the vessels and the different types of modules, project’s phasing (design, production-level deployment, operation), governance, allocation policies, financial aspects, as well as the rationale for the choice of the storage and installation locations. To this purpose, it is crucial that the proposals clearly demonstrate effective, reliable and efficient coordination with all relevant stakeholders, especially the entity declaring the emergency situation which is expected to be the future Regional Cable Hubs. The solidity of the plan will be taken into account when assessing the maturity of the proposal. Proposals should demonstrate how they contribute to CPEI Area 8 (“Multipurpose vessel(s) and modular equipment stock”) from the CPEI list published in February 2026, and in particular to one or more of the CPEI criteria b, c, d and e of Point 26, and CPEI criteria a, b and c of Point 27 of Commission Recommendation (EU) 2024/779. Proposals must provide repair modules to increase repair capacity for all subsea cable systems, serving EU Member States in the main European sea basins following the current repair agreements when relevant. Please consult the call document for more information on the scope, including digital security requirements. Show more Topic updates 23 June 2026 The submission session is now available for: CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES-WORKS Show more Topic conditions and documents Conditions 1. Admissibility Conditions: described in section 5 of the call document. 2. Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System 3. Eligible countries: described in section 6 of of the call document 4. Other eligibility conditions: described in section 6 of the call document 5. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in section 7 of the call document 6. Submission and evaluation processes: described section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual 7. Award criteria, scoring and thresholds: described in section 9 of the call document 8. Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in section 4 of the call document 9. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in section 10 of the call document Call document and annexes: Call document Application form and annexes: Proposals (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the forms provided inside the Submission System (NOT the documents available on the Topic page - they are only for information and reference). Application form (Part A and B) Detailed budget table per Work Package Letter of support/MS agreement Timetable (Gantt Chart) Security compliance declaration Business plan financial spreadsheet Ownership control declaration CEF Model Grant Agreement (MGA) Additional documents: Guidance on participation in EU calls with ownership and control restrictions Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Multianual Work Programme (2024-2027) Connecting Europe Facility Regulation 2021/1153 EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 Show more Budget overview Topic Budget year : 2026 Stages Opening date Deadline Contributions Indicative number of grants CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES-WORKS - CEF-INFRA CEF Infrastructure Projects 40 000 000,00 € Single-stage 23 June 2026 8 October 2026 Items per page: 10 50 100 Showing 1–1 of 1 Partner search announcements 14 Searches of partners to collaborate on this topic View / Edit LEARs, Account Administrators or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into this Portal, as well as any user having an active public Person profile. Start submission Need help? To access the Electronic Submission Service, please click on the submission-button next to the type of action and the type of model grant agreement that corresponds to your proposal. You will then be asked to confirm your choice, as it cannot be changed in the submission system. Upon confirmation, you will be linked to the correct entry point. To access existing draft proposals for this topic, please login to the Funding & Tenders Portal and select the My Proposals page of the My Area section. Please select the type of your submission: CEF Infrastructure Projects [CEF-INFRA], CEF Action Grant Budget-Based [CEF-AG] Start submission Topic Q&As29 item(s) found General FAQ What is an emergency situation in the context of the CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES call? An emergency situation, as identified by the relevant Regional Cable Hub or any other entity declaring the emergency situation, occurs when the cut or the failure of the cable would ... Under the CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES call, what does "minor operational preparation and without legal or technical barriers" mean? This implies that the vessel requires minimal adjustments or set-up procedures before it can commence operations. There are no significant regulatory obstacles preventing the vessel ... Under the CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES call, are costs related to the operation of the modules, retraining of staff and certifications eligible? The costs related to the operation and maintenance of the modules are not eligible under the CEF grant and applicants are expected to demonstrate how they intend to cover them over t... Under the CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES call document, Scope (p.8), what does "demonstrate the adaptability, portability and scalability of the solution put forward" mean? It means providing sufficient evidence to facilitate the evaluation of the solution by a vessel architect or similar technical expert. What does "Exceptional eligibility for applicants from third and associated countries when indispensible" mean under the CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES? This call is subject to restrictions due to security reasons. This means that in order to be eligible, applicants must be legal entities established in EU Member States (including Ov... Is the ownership control declaration and assessment mandatory under the CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES call? Ownership control restrictions cover in principle all entities participating in the grant in any capacity - as beneficiary, affiliated entity, associated partner, subcontractor. Howe... Are studies funded under the CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES call? No studies are funded under this call, however final layout and design are eligible activities. In the call CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES, what response or call out time from the commercial cable repair market would you consider acceptable before activating the intervention? The trigger for this emergency is the responsibility of national authorities in charge of emergency response taking into account cable owners may have agreements with commercial repa... Under the CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES call, can the modules be used to repair terrestrial cables too? No. The modules are meant to be installed on marine vessels and deployed for the repair of submarine cables. The modules shall be hosted in shipyards or other facilities within the g... Under the CEF-DIG-2026-CABLE-REPAIR-CAPACITIES call, do proposals need to have the approval of the national government(s)? Yes. As part of the mandatory supporting documen [... συνέχεια στην επίσημη πρόσκληση]