Grants

This grant aims to continue and expand support for independent Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian media in exile, ensuring their ability to operate free from censorship and reach their audiences. The project strengthens a pan-European platform for media freedom, improves use of donor funding, and consolidates support networks for exiled journalists. Activities include research, financial support, development of media hubs and local support networks, and targeted training to foster sustainable, independent journalism in Europe.

This grant supports the upgrade of existing submarine telecommunications/digital infrastructures to smart capabilities, enabling advanced monitoring of cable systems and their surrounding critical infrastructures. The objective is to enhance the security, resilience, and performance of submarine fibre cable infrastructure within or connecting to the EU, deploy smart cable technologies, promote data sharing for scientific and civil protection purposes, and address Europe-wide connectivity and redundancy. The expected impacts include increased security, better environmental monitoring, and improved civil protection through data sharing and innovation in monitoring technologies.

The grant supports the deployment or significant upgrade of backbone networks—including submarine cables, terrestrial backbone networks, and satellite infrastructure—to address risks, vulnerabilities, and dependencies in the EU backbone infrastructure. Projects aim to improve security, resilience, and connectivity within the EU and with third countries, bridging the digital divide and ensuring widespread access to Gigabit networks. The impact includes strengthened network quality and capacity that benefits all EU end-users and businesses.

Studies related to the deployment or significant upgrade of backbone networks addressing risks, vulnerabilities and dependencies in the EU backbone infrastructure. The expected impact includes improved quality and maturity of future EU backbone network development, particularly Critical Physical European Infrastructures (CPEIs). Support is given to studies for deploying connectivity that connects at least two EU Member States, links Member States to their islands, outermost regions, or overseas territories, or connects Member States with third countries directly or via other cable infrastructures connected to the Union. Activities supported include all preparatory work before contracting suppliers (e.g. marine ground surveys, permit applications) and studies for future deployment projects of European interest.

The grant supports high-profile research focused on the protection of the EU's financial interests against fraud, corruption, and other irregularities, including through comparative law studies. It also promotes the dissemination of research results and relevant information via academic and scientific periodical publications, raising awareness among stakeholders such as the judiciary and the legal profession.

The grant aims to strengthen and improve the technical capacity of beneficiaries, primarily customs authorities, to detect suspicious movements of goods and verify such movements. This includes the purchase and maintenance of equipment and IT tools for detecting smuggled and counterfeited goods, such as cigarettes and tobacco, imported into the EU to evade VAT, customs duties, and/or excise taxes. Specialised training for staff operating these tools is also required. Effectiveness will be measured by increases in IT system features, number of verifications, and successful detections ('hits') following the adoption of new equipment.

The grant aims to strengthen and improve beneficiaries’ investigative and operational capacity by supporting the purchase and maintenance of digital forensic equipment and software, mobile forensic tools, and computer forensic collaborative systems. These tools are used to prevent and fight against irregularities, particularly fraudulent irregularities, fraud, and corruption detrimental to the financial interests of the EU. Projects may include updates of existing software systems and associated training. Cross-border cooperation, information exchange, and staff training to operate these tools are encouraged.

The grant aims to strengthen the capacity of professionals, particularly staff from customs authorities and other law enforcement bodies, to protect the financial interests of the EU by developing new skills, learning specialised methodologies and techniques, increasing awareness of EU-level fraud-risk indicators, and fostering opportunities to develop and implement anti-fraud strategies. Activities include organising conferences, workshops, seminars, and forming structural networks among Member States, candidate and potential candidate countries, third countries, EU institutions and international organisations to exchange information, share best practices, improve coordination, facilitate multidisciplinary cooperation, and raise awareness among anti-fraud practitioners as well as the judiciary and other legal professionals.

This grant aims to organise staff exchanges between national and regional administrations, including those in EU candidate and potential candidate countries, to help develop, improve, and update staff skills for protecting the financial interests of the EU. The expected outcome is that professionals, especially staff from customs authorities and other law enforcement bodies, are better able to protect the EU's financial interests through the acquisition of new skills, specialized methodologies, a greater awareness of EU fraud-risk indicators, and increased opportunities to develop anti-fraud strategies at the EU level.