ECCC 2025 Open Calls - Topics Presentation

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08
DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09
HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC

Ivan Scannapiecoro
#CyberSec_ECCC
Senior Programme Officer

07/07/2025
Overview

Digital Europe Programme

▪ Policy Overview

▪ 2025 Calls – DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09

Horizon Europe Programme

▪ Policy overview

▪ 2025 Call - HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC

Overview

Open Calls – focus:

✓ Topics overview
✓ Timetable and deadlines
✓ Topics presentation
✓ Specific topics conditions
✓ Awards criteria
✓ Budget categories and cost eligibility
 Digital Europe Programme

The Digital Europe Programme will reinforce the EU’s critical digital capacities by focusing
on the key areas of artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, advanced computing, data
infrastructure, the deployment of these technologies and their best use for sectors such as
energy, climate change and environment, manufacturing, mobility, agriculture and health.

The DEP will strengthen the preparedness and resilience of the key sectors and response
actions across the EU to defend against cyber threats.

(Digital Europe Work Programme 2025- 2027)

DEP WORK PROGRAMME 2025-2027

Budget Overview

Total: €390 million over 3 years

• €142M: AI & PQC

• €121M: Cyber Solidarity
• €118M: Resilience
• €9M: Support actions
 DEP WORK PROGRAMME 2025-2027
*Topics and
budget are
subject to change
DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-PublicPQC EUR
15 000 000
• Transition to post-quantum Public Key Infrastructures

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-NCC EUR
10 000 000
• Enhancing the NCC Network

DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-CyberHEALTH EUR
30 000 000
• Dedicated action to reinforcing hospitals and healthcare providers
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08
Timetable and deadlines
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-PublicPQC
Transition to post-quantum Public Key Infrastructures

Objective

● tackle the challenges of an effective integration of PQC algorithms in Public Key Infrastructures
(PKIs), which offers efficient migration strategies and strong business continuity guarantees

Scope

Proposals shall target activities on the following subjects:

● design of digital signature combiners and key encapsulation mechanism combiners.

● the testing of deployment of certificates in protocols that use those certificates.
● the development of novel protocols for Automatic Certificate Management and revocation
and of novel protocols for (privacy-friendly) certificate-transparency.
● the development of methods and tools that can be used by experts across various PKI
domains, including all aspects of key management of asymmetric systems.
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-PublicPQC

● Indicative duration of the action: 36 months

● Type of Action: Simple Grants - 50% funding rate
● Grant amount: EUR 3-4 million
● Indicative number of projects to be funded: 3-5
● Targeted stakeholders: Stakeholders involved in the Public Key
Infrastructures (PKIs) chain, Certificate Authorities (CAs), intermediate CAs and other
entities with a focus on cryptography and its standardization activities. The topic targets
also other actors in PKI chain and entities that can provide use-case studies and real-
world applications for deployment.
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-NCC
Enhancing the NCC Network
Based on the financing received in previous years and on the different operational start dates in the
Member States, this activity aims to continue providing support for NCCs.

Objectives
● support the operation of the NCCs and enable them to support the cybersecurity community,
including SMEs, for the uptake and dissemination of state-of-the-art cybersecurity solutions and
strengthen cybersecurity capacities. This could also be achieved by using Financial Support for Third
Parties (FSTPs).

● providing support for the uptake of EU cybersecurity technologies and products, commercialisation
and scale-up of the European cybersecurity start-up/SME ecosystem, in collaboration and
complementarity with the European and ongoing national and regional initiatives, such as accelerator
and incubation programmes and technology transfer programmes.
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-NCC
Scope
The NCCs should carry out one or more of the following tasks:

✓ Act as contact points at the national level for the Cybersecurity ✓ Implement specific actions for which grants have been
Competence Community to support the ECCC in achieving its awarded by the ECCC, including through the provision of
objectives and missions. FSTP; Support the scaling-up of start-ups by finding other
funding to implement existing projects.
✓ Provide expertise and actively contributing to the strategic
✓ Promote and disseminate the relevant outcomes of the work
tasks of the ECCC
of the Network and the ECCC
✓ Promote, encourage and facilitate the participation of civil
✓ Assess requests for becoming part of the Cybersecurity
society and industry in cross-border projects and cybersecurity Competence Community by entities established in the same
actions funded through all relevant Union programmes. Member State as the NCC.
✓ Provide technical assistance to stakeholders by supporting ✓ Advocate and promote involvement in the activities arising
them in their application phase for projects managed by the from the ECCC, the Network of National Coordination Centres,
ECCC. and the Cybersecurity Competence Community.

✓ Seek to establish synergies with relevant activities at national, ✓ Support the Cybersecurity Competence Community
regional and local levels. registration (on platforms such as ATLAS) and contribute to
the development of suitable community management tools.
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-NCC
Scope
In addition, the NCCs could also carry out one or more of the following tasks:

✓ Provide support to innovative ideas towards market- ✓ Organise periodic cybersecurity boot camps,
readiness. challenges, awareness campaigns and training courses
across Europe, specifically for SMEs or students.
✓ Promote cybersecurity awareness, best practices, and Organise periodic awareness raising campaigns and
careers in schools, universities, and community events. cyber exercises to enhance the security and resilience of
critical sectors as well as SMEs.
✓ Strengthen collaboration between institutions for
higher education, support activities in primary and ✓ Foster a community of cybersecurity professionals
secondary levels of education to increase cybersecurity who can share their experiences, challenges, and
awareness and hygiene. solutions.

✓ Build stronger partnerships with established SMEs, tech ✓ Support and encourage the uptake of cybersecurity
educational policy goals in national (cybersecurity)
companies, and government agencies to develop and
strategies.
distribute software tools and services that assist in early
threat detection, actor identification, and threat evolution ✓ Promote safer digital behaviours and more youth
monitoring. considering cybersecurity careers.
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-NCC

● Indicative duration of the action: 36 or 48 months

● Type of Action: Simple Grants - 50% funding rate

● Grant amount: EUR 2-3 million

● Indicative number of projects to be funded: 3-5

● Targeted stakeholders: National Coordination Centres which have been

recognized by the Commission as having the capacity to manage funds to achieve the
mission and objectives laid down in the Regulation establishing the ECCC and the
Network of National Coordination Centres and other private and other private and public
entities in consortium with NCCs, including academia and research entities
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-CyberHEALTH
Dedicated action to reinforcing hospitals and healthcare providers
Objective
• strengthen the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers; ensure that hospitals and healthcare
providers can effectively detect, monitor, and respond to cyber threats, particularly ransomware, thereby
enhancing the resilience of the European healthcare system.

Scope
The action will support pilot projects bringing together regional and/or national clusters associations of
hospitals/healthcare providers and cybersecurity service providers. The pilot projects will:
• define the state of preparedness of clusters of hospitals and healthcare providers in the EU, to be able to
assess their needs; prepare an overview of the state-of-the-art cybersecurity solutions and resources
needed for hospitals and healthcare providers to meet the scope of the action.
• develop technical plans, tailored to the needs of representative hospitals and healthcare provider
• conduct a demo implementation of these technical plans to demonstrate their effectiveness in
operations at the stakeholders’ sites.
• serve as demonstration projects and provide cybersecurity education and training to the staff,
enhancing awareness and ensuring best practices in safeguarding sensitive healthcare information.
• undertake wide dissemination activities of best practices across the EU
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-CyberHEALTH

● Indicative duration of the action: 18 or 24 months

● Type of Action: Simple Grants - 50% funding rate
● Grant amount: EUR 3-5 million
● Indicative number of projects to be funded: 6-10
● Targeted stakeholders: Regional and/or national clusters
associations of hospitals and healthcare providers (such as national
healthcare systems, hospitals or associations of hospitals, healthcare
providers and/or professional associations of healthcare practitioners), as well
as cybersecurity service providers.
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08
Specific topics conditions
• All topics are subject to the provisions of article 12(5) of the Digital Europe Programme Regulation:
• participation in any capacity (as beneficiary, affiliated entity, associated partner, subcontractor or
recipient of financial support to third parties) is limited to entities established in and controlled from
eligible countries
• project activities (included subcontracted work) must take place in eligible countries

• Financial support to third parties is allowed only in topic DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-

NCC.

• Consortium composition:
• For topic DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-CYBERHEALTH - minimum 2 independent
applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from at least 2 eligible countries.
• For topic DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-PUBLICPQC, submissions from consortia, despite
not mandatory, is strongly advised.
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08
Specific cost eligibility conditions
o Personnel costs:
• average personnel costs (unit cost according to usual cost accounting practices) : Yes
• SME owner/natural person unit cost : Yes

o Travel costs:
• Travel and subsistence unit costs : No (only actual costs)
• eligible only in EU and EEA countries

o Equipment costs:
• depreciation (for topic DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-NCC)
• depreciation + full cost for listed equipment (for topics DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-PublicPQC
and DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-CyberHEALTH)

o Other cost categories: costs for financial support to third parties allowed for grants:
• for topic DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-NCC: maximum amount per third party EUR 100 000;
amounts of more than 60 000 EUR per third party are necessary because the nature of the actions under
this call is such that their objectives would otherwise be impossible or overly difficult to achieve;
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08
Type of grant

o Budget-based mixed actual cost grant: actual costs, with unit cost and flat-rate elements

• ONLY certain types of costs (eligible costs) will be reimbursed

• costs that were actually incurred for your project (NOT the budgeted costs)

• For unit costs and flat-rates, the amounts calculated as explained in the Grant Agreement can be
charged
DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08
Awards criteria

*Not applicable to topics DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-NCC, DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-CyberHEALTH

 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08
References
o Digital Europe Programme website :
[Link]

o Digital Europe Programme Regulation:

[Link]

o Funding & tender opportunities portal:

[Link]

o Call document: Strengthening the Cybersecurity Ecosystem

[Link]
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09
DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-CYBERAI EUR
15 000 000
• Cybersecure tools, technologies and services relying on AI
DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-SMEUPTAKE
EUR
• Uptake of innovative cybersecurity solutions for SMEs 15 000 000
DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-CYHUBSNAT
EUR
• National Cyber Hubs 20 000 000
DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09-CYHUBSCRO EUR
• Cross-Border Cyber Hubs 15 000 000
DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-PrepTEST EUR
• Coordinated preparedness testing and other preparedness actions 10 000 000
 DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-09
Timetable and deadlines

Call opening September 2025

Deadline for submission January 2026

Evaluation March - May 2026

Information on evaluation June 2026

results
GA signature (target) December 2026
Horizon Europe Programme
 Horizon Europe Programme

Cluster 3 - Civil Security for Society

Cluster 3 provides a research and innovation response to a context of rapidly
changing threats and challenges to internal security, the security of citizens,
critical infrastructure and the security of society as a whole.

(…) With the aim of creating a secure and trustworthy digital environment,
Cluster 3 will invest in cybersecurity R&I to strengthen the EU’s resilience,
protect its infrastructures, and improve its ability to cope with cyber incidents.

(Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025)

 HE WORK PROGRAMME 2025
Destination - Increased Cybersecurity
Indicative budget: EUR 90.55 million from the 2025 budget

Expected impacts:
• Support the EU’s technological capabilities by investing in cybersecurity research and innovation to further
strengthen its leadership, strategic autonomy, digital sovereignty and resilience;
• Help protect its infrastructures and improve its ability to prevent, protect against, respond to, resist, mitigate, absorb,
accommodate and recover from cyber and hybrid incidents, especially given the current context of geopolitical change;
• Support European competitiveness in cybersecurity and European strategic autonomy, by protecting EU products
and digital supply chains, as well as critical EU services and infrastructures (both physical and digital) (…);
• Encourage the development of the European Cybersecurity Competence Community;
• Particular attention will be given to SMEs (…)by promoting security and privacy ‘by design’ in existing and emerging
technologies.
HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC
HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-01
EUR
40 000 000
Generative AI for Cybersecurity applications
HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-02 EUR
23 550 000
• New advanced tools and processes for Operational Cybersecurity
HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-03 EUR
• Privacy Enhancing Technologies 11 000 000
HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-04 EUR
• Security evaluations of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) primitives 4 000 000
HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-05 EUR
• Security of implementations of Post-Quantum Cryptography algorithms 6 000 000
HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-06 EUR
• Integration of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms into high-level protocols 6 000 000
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC
Timetable and deadlines

Call opening 12 June 2025

Deadline for submission 12 November 2025

[Link] CET (Brussels)
Evaluation January – February 2026

Information on evaluation April 2026

results
GA signature (target) July 2026
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-01
Generative AI for Cybersecurity applications

Expected outcome

● Projects will develop technologies, tools, processes that reinforce cybersecurity using AI
technological components, in particular Generative AI, in line with relevant EU policy, legal
and ethical requirements

● Proposals should address at least one of the following expected outcomes:

a. Developing, training and testing of Generative AI models for monitoring, detection,

response and self-healing capabilities in digital processes, and systems against cyberattacks,
including adversarial AI attacks.

b. Development of Generative AI tools and technologies for continuous monitoring,

compliance and automated remediation. These should consider legal aspects of EU and
national regulation as well as ethical and privacy aspects.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-01

Scope
Proposals addressing expected outcome a) Proposals addressing expected outcome b)

(a) (i) Advanced threat and anomaly detection (b) (i) Development of tools powered by
and analysis
Generative AI that analyse and facilitate the
(a) (ii) Adaptive security measures Application of the national and EU regulation
in digital systems, in particular the Artificial
(a) (iii) Enhanced authentication and access Intelligence Act, the Directive on measures for
control. a high common level of cybersecurity across
the Union (NIS2) and the Cyber Resilience Act.

(b) (ii) Adaptation to a dynamic environment.

 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-01

● Type of Action: Research and Innovation Actions

● Type of grant: Budget-based

● Grant amount: EUR 12-14 million

● Indicative number of projects to be funded: 3

● Targeted stakeholders: Participation of SMEs is encouraged

 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-02
New advanced tools and processes for Operational Cybersecurity

Scope

Proposals are expected to demonstrate the developed frameworks, tools, services, and processes
through pilot implementations involving the participation of relevant national cybersecurity
authorities and/or essential and important entities as defined in NIS2, implemented with the
participation of leading European cybersecurity industry. Proposals should consider the impact of
forthcoming legislation, in particular the Cyber Resilience Act.

Real world applications and the usability of the solutions developed should feature predominately
in the proposals.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-02
Expected outcome
Proposals should address at least one of the following expected outcomes:

✓ Enhanced Situational Awareness through ✓ Development of testing and experimentation

advanced Cyber Threat Intelligence frameworks, facilities for advanced tools and processes for
tools, and services as well as cybersecurity risk operational cybersecurity, including the creation
assessments of critical supply chains made in the of digital twins for critical infrastructures and
EU,
essential and important entities as defined in NIS2,
✓ Frameworks, tools, and services for preparedness
✓ Development and pilot implementation of cross-
against Cyber and Hybrid Threats in information
and communication technology (ICT) and sector and/or cross-border cyber crisis
operational technology (OT), including cybersecurity management frameworks, services, and tools,
exercises, ✓ Frameworks, services, and tools aimed at
✓ Expanded Security Operations Centre/Computer mechanisms and processes for enhanced
Security Incident Response Teams (SOC/CSIRT) operational cooperation between public sector
functionality through advanced tools and services entities (CSIRT network, EU-CyCLONe). Extension
for detection, analysis, incident handling including of the above to essential and important entities as
response and reporting as well as remediation, defined in NIS2 , would be an advantage.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-02
● Type of Action: Innovation Actions

● Grant amount: EUR 4,5-6 million

● Type of grant: Lump Sum

● Indicative number of projects to be funded: 4

● Targeted stakeholders: the participation of the following types of entities is highly

encouraged and would be considered an asset:

○ innovative European cybersecurity start-ups and SMEs with a proven track-record in cybersecurity innovation at EU
level,

○ European start-ups and SMEs that can demonstrate established operational cooperation with relevant National
Cybersecurity Authorities,

○ European start-ups and SMEs that have received equity investments by national,

○ European or private Venture Capital funds for cybersecurity activities

 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-03
Privacy Enhancing Technologies

Scope

Consortia are encouraged to propose solutions that can improve the usability and effectiveness of
different Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) in realistic environment and to investigate their
integration within common European data spaces. The inclusion of agile schemes designed in a
modular way to support the transition to post-quantum PETs and the design, improvement and
security analysis of quantum-resistant PETs is welcome, in light of the advances of quantum
technologies.

Proposals should also focus on enhancing the usability, scalability, and dependability of secure
and PETs within supply chains, while seamlessly integrating with existing infrastructures and
conventional security protocols. They should also accommodate the diversity in data types and
models across various organizations, undergoing validation and pilot runs within authentic data
environments. Adherence to data regulations, notably GDPR, is paramount.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-03
Expected outcome
Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:

✓ Development of robust, scalable, and reliable ✓ Contribution towards the advancement of GDPR-
technologies to uphold privacy within federated and compliant European data spaces for digital services and
secure data sharing frameworks, as well as in the research, such as those on health data, aligning with
processing of personal and industrial data, integrated DATA Topics of Horizon Europe Cluster 4.
into real-world systems.
✓ Development of privacy enhancing technologies and
✓ Development of privacy preserving approaches for data solutions, to benefit the requirements of citizens and
sharing solutions, including privacy-preserving cyber companies, including small and medium-sized
threat information sharing, and in collaborative enterprises (SMEs).
computations involving sensitive data.
✓ Development of blockchain-based and decentralized
✓ Integration of privacy-by-design at the core of software privacy-enhancing technologies, to preserve data
and protocol development processes, with attention to confidentiality, integrity, and the authenticity of
ensure that cryptographic building blocks and transactions and digital assets. Possible combination of
implementations of privacy-enhancing digital signatures
blockchain with other technologies, such as federated
and user-authentication schemes are crypto-agile and
learning, will need to address the data's security and
modular, to facilitate a transition towards post-quantum
cryptographic algorithms. privacy shared through such networks while ensuring
that their connected devices are trusted.
✓ Development of privacy enhancing technologies for the
users of constrained devices. ✓ Investigating the usability and user experience of
privacy-enhancing technologies and exploring ways to
design systems that are both secure and user-friendly.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-03

● Type of Action: Research and Innovation Actions

● Type of grant: Lump Sum

● Grant amount: EUR 3-4 million

● Indicative number of projects to be funded: 3

● Targeted stakeholders: consortia should seek to intertwine

interdisciplinary expertise and resources from industry stakeholders, service providers,
and end-users. The engagement of SMEs is encouraged, alongside the inclusion of legal
proficiency to ensure regulatory compliance, including GDPR adherence
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-04
Security evaluations of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) primitives

Scope

Proposals on the assessment of the security of post-quantum primitives, via studies focused on
eventual quantum algorithms with demonstrable speed-up, eventually also in combination with AI,
or on solely AI-based approaches, are welcome. The security of lattice and code-based PQC
algorithms may be prioritized, but tackling other mathematical problem classes is not excluded. As
the unprecedented computational power of quantum computing can greatly enhance AI
capabilities, combination of different approaches may also be considered.
Projects should lead to identification of vulnerabilities of current post-quantum cryptographic
building blocks and to practical recommendations for parameters for the design of post-
quantum cryptosystems with improved security against quantum attacks and future advances in
code-breaking and AI.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-04
Expected outcome

Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:
✓ Breakthroughs in understanding the quantum ✓ Establishment of environments testing the
hardness of various mathematical problem robustness of cryptosystems regarding quantum
classes that underpin the security of current and attackers;
future post-quantum cryptosystems;
✓ AI-based approaches to help discovering
✓ New quantum algorithms with significant quantum vulnerabilities of lattice-based or other
speed-up for lattice-based, code-based, and mathematical problem-classes;
potentially other mathematical problem-classes;
✓ Cryptanalysis results;
✓ Improved implementation of quantum algorithms
✓ Parameter suggestions to create a robust set of
using high-level quantum programming languages
cryptographic building blocks for post-quantum
to solve mathematical problems forming the core of
cybersecurity and design of post-quantum
cryptosystems;
cryptosystems with improved security against
quantum or AI-based attacks.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-04

● Type of Action: Research and Innovation Actions

● Grant amount: EUR 2-3 million

● Type of grant: Lump Sum

● Indicative number of projects to be funded: 2

● Targeted stakeholders: consortia with team of applicants with

background in post-quantum cryptography and in quantum computing are particularly
encouraged.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-05
Security of implementations of Post-Quantum Cryptography algorithms

Scope

Proposals are welcome on developing solutions that protect against implementation attacks, at
reasonable costs and minimizing the loss of performance while maintaining the required security, as
well as on the analysis of new attacks or combinations of attacks, also powered by the use of AI,
for security-by-design approaches when designing Post Quantum Cryptographic systems.
Activities can also lead to the development of testing methodologies and frameworks for
automated security evaluations for correctness and resistance to remote side-channel attacks for
regular software and for correctness and resistance to a broad range of implementation attacks for
embedded software and hardware.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-05
Expected outcome

Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:

✓ Design and implementations of Post-Quantum ✓ Recommendations on implementing

Cryptography (PQC) algorithms that are countermeasures for a broad range of attacks,
resistant to side-channel and fault attacks; also identifying the available and necessary
✓ Optimized countermeasures taking into hardware;
account a balanced trade-off between security, ✓ Analysis of new attacks or combinations of
performance, and costs; attacks, also eventually enhanced by AI,
applicable to real-world conditions.
✓ Design of automated security evaluations for
PQC implementations.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-05

● Type of Action: Research and Innovation Actions

● Type of grant: Lump Sum

● Grant amount: EUR 2-3 million

● Indicative number of projects to be funded: 2

● Targeted stakeholders: general conditions apply

 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-06
Integration of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms into high-level protocols

Scope

Activities should target one or multiple relevant high-level protocols and produce their
post-quantum versions.

Typically, this can be achieved through combining current and post-quantum solutions for
backward compatibility. Atypical solutions with equivalent security are also welcome.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-06
Expected outcome

Proposals are expected to contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:

✓ Design and implementations of at least one high-level post-quantum cryptography protocol

along with a security analysis demonstrating that no security is lost compared to the used
building blocks/lower-level protocols (KEMs, signatures, AEAD,…);
✓ Submission of these high-level protocols integrating PQC to standardization bodies and/or
submission of the specification and implementation to the respective open source projects;
✓ Requirements analysis highlighting roadblocks and needs for development of PQC solutions
for missing building blocks for migrating high-level protocols to PQC.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-06

● Type of Action: Research and Innovation Actions

● Grant amount: EUR 2-3 million

● Type of grant: Lump Sum

● Indicative number of projects to be funded: 2

● Targeted stakeholders: consortia composed by actors of different

nature, such as, for example, research institutions, relevant public entities, and industry to
ensure that PQC solutions meet real-world security demands and are robustly tested
across various applications are welcome.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC
Specific topics conditions
• For topics HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-01 and HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-02,
participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States and Associated Countries. In
terms of control conditions, entities established in an eligible country listed above, but which are
directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, shall not
participate in the action.

• For topics HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-04, HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-05 and HORIZON-

CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-06, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States and
Associated Countries and OECD countries. In terms of control conditions, entities established in an
eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or
by a non-eligible country entity, shall not participate in the action.

• For topic HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC-03, the following Eligibility exceptions apply: subject to

restrictions for the protection of European communication networks
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC
Awards criteria
Impact Quality and efficiency of the
Excellence
implementation

• Clarity and pertinence of the project’s • Credibility of the pathways to achieve • Quality and effectiveness of the work
objectives, and the extent to which the the expected outcomes and impacts plan, assessment of risks, and
proposed work is ambitious, and goes specified in the work programme, and appropriateness of the effort assigned
beyond the state-of-the-art. the likely scale and significance of the to work packages, and the resources
contributions due to the project. overall.
• Soundness of the proposed
methodology, including the underlying • Suitability and quality of the measures • Capacity and role of each participant,
concepts, models, assumptions, inter- to maximize expected outcomes and and extent to which the consortium as
disciplinary approaches, appropriate impacts, as set out in the a whole brings together the necessary
consideration of the gender dimension dissemination and exploitation plan, expertise.
in research and innovation content, including communication activities.
and the quality of open science
practices including sharing and
management of research outputs and
engagement of citizens, civil society
and end users where appropriate.
 HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC
References
o Horizon Europe Programme website :
[Link]
open-calls/horizon-europe_en

o Horizon Europe Work Programmes:

[Link]
open-calls/horizon-europe/horizon-europe-work-programmes_en

o Funding & tender opportunities portal:

[Link]

o HORIZON-CL3-2025-02-CS-ECCC Call:
[Link]
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