General FAQ
The Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) is an EU funding programme focused on bringing digital technology to businesses, citizens and public administrations. The Digital Europe Programme provides strategic funding to answer these challenges, supporting projects in 5 key capacity areas: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and ensuring a wide use of digital technologies across the economy and society, including through Digital Innovation Hubs. A new capacity area on semiconductors was added in September 2023 as the Chips Act entered into force.
With an overall budget of €8.1 billion, it aims to accelerate the economic recovery and shape the digital transformation of Europe’s society and economy, providing benefits to all, but particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Further information regarding the opening of the calls, including a direct link to the Funding & Tender Portal.
The countries participating in the Digital Europe Programme nominate National Contact Points (NCPs). They act as ambassadors and contribute to the promotion of the actions and policies supported by the Programme, within their respective countries. They provide on-the ground information to potential applicants and beneficiaries, throughout the project lifecycle. They collaborate with NCPs from other countries in order to facilitate networking and cooperation between stakeholders. Contact details of the Digital Europe NCPs can be found on the Funding and Tender Opportunities portal.
While the purpose of the Programme is first and foremost to strengthen the Union’s digital capacities, it allows for the possibility to include third country associations to the Programme. Therefore, the funding will be available for entities from the EU Member States as well as other countries associated to the Programme.
The decision to associate a country (or not) is left to the Commission based on the scope and objectives of the Programme. At this time, EFTA/EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) are fully associated with the programme, while Ukraine, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, Türkiye, Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina are associated countries. As of 1 January 2025, Switzerland can also participate in the Programme under transitional arrangements.
Because of their particular and critical nature, participation in topics under the third Specific objective of the Programme (i.e. Cybersecurity) is framed by the provisions of Article 12.5 of the Digital Europe Programme Regulation.
In addition, a set of topics in the main work programme are also subject to the provisions of Article 12.6 of the Digital Europe Programme Regulation (whereby participation is allowed provided participants comply with certain security conditions established in the work programme.)
The call document provides more details than the topic description originating from the work programmes, and constitutes the main reference for evaluation.
Co-funding is based on actually incurred costs. The EU funding rate of 50% applies to the action’s eligible costs that have actually been incurred within its duration (see Article 6 of the General Model Grant Agreement for more information on the cost eligibility conditions).
Moreover, as stated in section 13 of the call document, grants may not give a profit (i.e. surplus of revenues + EU grant over costs). Any given action may receive only one grant from the EU budget and cost items may under no circumstances be declared to two different EU actions (except under EU Synergies actions).
Combination with EU operating grants is possible (rules of all contributing funds apply), if the project remains outside the operating grant work programme and it is made sure that cost items are clearly separated in the accounting and not declared twice, see Article 6.3.b.ii of the General Model Grant Agreement. Future DIGITAL calls and call documents will, due to different implementation logic of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), not provide for the possibility of synergy funding with the RRF. Member States will be advised not to provide in their RRPs deliverables of which part is financed by the DIGITAL. Financial contributions from non-EU funding can be used to co-fund the action.
Proposals must be submitted online before 17.00 CEST on the day of the call deadline. A step-by-step guide can be found on the Funding and Tenders portal.
Do: Start on time - there are actions to undertake before submission (find partners, register an organisation).
Don’t: Wait until the last moment to submit your proposal. Note that you can submit as many times as you want. Every submitted version will overwrite the previous one (which will be erased and cannot be retrieved). The call closing date and time are fixed.
Funding is provided for the different activities explained in the work programme and the call for proposals. We provide funding to beneficiaries who implement those activities via reimbursing costs incurred by the beneficiary in connection with the action. A patent for a product is not a condition to participate in the Programme nor is it the main objective of the Programme to finance products, which received a patent, but it can be part of an action if the activity is in the scope of a call. You can also mention procurements and other activities if you intend to.
Information sessions and specific areas
You can see the presentations and recordings on the event page.
View presentations of the workshop on World Radiocommunications Conference
The Commission is regularly organising webinars and information sessions where potential applicants can learn more on the current and upcoming calls. For an overview of events, check our calendar.
Related content
The Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) is an EU funding programme focused on bringing digital technology to businesses, citizens and public administrations.