Open Internet Stack Sovereign Solutions (RIA)

The grant aims to develop a large selection of Open-Source solutions organized under the Open Internet Stack framework, supporting trust, sovereignty, and credible alternatives for European and global stakeholders, including citizens, governments, companies, start-ups, and SMEs. The focus is on creating interoperable, standard-based, decentralized solutions across key technology areas: network and transport technologies, sovereign operating systems and firmware (including smartphones), and open-source software productivity and supply chain technologies. Projects should target efficient deployment, modular integration, and broad adoption across public administrations, research and education, and service providers. Proposals must show technical maturity, EU regulatory alignment, resilience, advanced cryptographic protection, community support, and replicability. Synergies with prior projects and related EU initiatives are encouraged. Detailed plans for development, integration, deployment, marketing, cataloguing, and maintenance, as well as for interaction with the Open Internet Stack Support for Scale, are expected. Financial support to third parties should focus on internet innovators and adopters of open source.

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Agency	HORIZON (EU)
Region	EU
Country	N/A
Legal form	Company, NGO, Government organization, Other
Start date	15 Jan 2026
End date	15 Apr 2026
Max funding	Maximum funding available for each third party: 400,000 EUR (in the form of grants, subject to FSTP rules)., Total topic funding (for HORIZON-CL4-2026-04-DATA-02): 7,000,000–10,250,000 EUR per grant, 2 grants expected.
Budget	Total topic budget: 20,500,000 EUR for 2026.
Coverage	Financial support to third parties may comprise up to a maximum of 80% of the total requested EU contribution.

Grant application conditions

Admissibility Conditions	Proposal must comply with page limits and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Eligible Countries	Participants must be from countries described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Certain non-EU/non-Associated Countries may be eligible if they have made specific provisions.
Applicant Type	Open to legal entities including companies, NGOs, government organizations, and other types as permitted by Horizon Europe RIA grants.
Purpose Restriction	Proposals must address at least one of: network and transport technologies, sovereign operating systems and firmware, or open-source software productivity and supply chain technologies.
Technical Maturity	Solutions must demonstrate scalability, resiliency, advanced cryptographic protection (including post-quantum cryptography). Alignment with standards and efficiency, including environmental impact.
Community Support	There must be a community with critical mass actively supporting the development.
Use Cases and Engagement	Proposals must show evidence of use cases, interest, and engagement from users and deployers.
Alignment and Replicability	Credible strategy to become part of the Open Internet Stack, including cataloguing, searchability, and compliance with EU regulations. Focus on replicability and portability across verticals and regions.
Financial & Operational Capacity	Applicants must pass financial and operational capacity checks as described in Annex C of the General Annexes.
Maximum Funding to Third Parties	Each third party may receive up to 400,000 EUR. FSTP may comprise up to 80% of total EU contribution.
Transfer/Licensing Restrictions	Beneficiaries must notify the granting authority before transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results. Authority may object up to 4 years after the end of the action.
Programme Period	Project actions must be aligned with Horizon Europe 2021–2027 framework.
Documentation	https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-CL4-2026-04-DATA-02

Eligible expenses

Evaluation criteria

Business exclusions

Reporting

Application process

Application requirements